Forged together
by aidan bard
Summary: AU as in Endless Waltz did not take place. The war is supposed to be over but there is always something to take care of and the boys are trying to fit in and form relationships. Maybe fighting a war was easier.3x4 2x5 1x2x5 complete
1. Chapter 1

A/N AU as in Endless Waltz did not take place. The war is supposed to be over but there is always something to take care of and the boys are trying to fit in and form relationships. Maybe fighting a war was easier. I'm with holding the final parings since I think it'll spoil the story but I promise a happy ending for everyone.

I've decided to base this after the series (all 49 episodes) and assume Endless Waltz (EW) did not take place and the Gundams were not destroyed. One reason I fell for this fandom for the big ass mechas and it just isn't the same without them for me.

However, I will be using the bits about the boys' past from EW here and there and there will be spoilers for the entire Gundam Wing.

To make things clearer, I've assumed that though the war is over there are pockets of resistances all over and the boys are still in hiding or at least lying low.

Betaed by Stray. All the mistakes re mine and mine alone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam wing universe or any of the characters.

Warning: pairings change in certain chapters.

Chapter 1

It was the sound of soft laughter, carried across the open space that forced Duo to look up from the vid-screen he had been fiddling with (_reception makes the days go faster_) towards the two boys who were talking softly to each other. Heero's dark unruly haired head was bent over a manual of some sort, weapons if he wasn't mistaken, and Trowa had said something to make him laugh. It was some freak of acoustics that had made the sound higher up carry down to the ground level while those below could be barely heard even when they were screaming blue murder. (_dinner, come down before Duo eats it all_.)

"Now I've seen it all," Duo said with a snicker then stopped when he saw the pained expression in Quatre's eyes. "I hope it's the violin you are upset over," Duo said playfully but his expression was serious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Quatre softly looking down at his instrument before sighing.

"Yeah," pushed Duo. "That sigh was enough to push a gundam over, so spill."

"Nothing," said Quatre, getting up and looking away. "Just…drop it Duo."

"Sit down," Duo said with a wave of his hand, looking to the left where Wufei was reading a book, sitting cross-legged on a cushion on the floor. He did not look as if he was aware of his surroundings but Duo knew appearances could be deceiving. "Where're you trying to run off to?"

The blond flopped back onto the rickety sofa, which shook under his weight, and pouted. It was true. The safe house / hangar they were using was ideal for the gundams. It was large, with flimsy walls and roof so the gundams could take off during an emergency through said walls without scratching the paint or snagging any unwanted part to the frame; it was open and it was remote. There was practically a jungle on their door step.

It sucked as human habitations. There was no hot water, there was no bath, there were no separate living quarters and as a result, no privacy. They were all private individuals and it got to their nerves. The boys had spread out as much as possible, placing sleeping bags in corners and scouring little niches for themselves. And by some quirk, Quatre and Duo had wound up together. They were to two who needed the most human contact, the two who talked the most, so in a way it was understandable. And Quatre, who had been accompanied by people all his life, found the isolation a little disconcerting. Plus, Duo and Quatre had grown close during their exile in the desert so the little arrangement did not grate on their nerves as it would have, had it happened with anyone else.

"So, spill, what's eating you," Duo said, throwing a friendly arm across the small blond's shoulder.

"Just… drop it, ok," Quatre mumbled.

"I wish I could," Duo said, giving an encouraging squeeze. "It's been bothering you all week. Is it about what Heero said the other day…about you being too soft?"

"Compared to him, everybody's soft," Quatre said.

"And compared to Wufei everyone's a weak woman," Duo said trying to cheer up his friend. Wufei snorted, coughed and turned a page.

"Just don't let any of my sisters hear that," Quatre managed a wan smile.

"Something's bothering you, so spill," Duo pushed. "You tell me, and I'll tell you something about someone else."

"It's not that simple," Quatre said.

"We have time," Duo encouraged.

"It…'s just that…you know I sense things."

"Yes," said Duo softly. _Prod, don't push._

"And I told you…the other day…about why I broke up with my father…."

"When you told him that your sisters won't be the only people bringing in sons-in-laws to the house," Duo teased and got an answering smile.

"Well…there's someone…I like…" the blond mumbled.

"Trowa," Duo said without pausing or letting Quatre continue. "I thought it was obvious and that you two were at least…" _close_ "getting somewhere…."

"No!" Quatre said slowly, blushing. "Yes, but you see …" He tried swallowing. "I know things, about people…"

Duo was seriously starting to wish he had a fast forward button because they were coming to the good part but the button was stuck in repeat.

"And…well…I think -- no, I know -- Heero is sleeping with Trowa."

Duo paused, looking up over Quatre's shoulder towards Wufei who had almost dropped his book and went over the comment twice, trying to break it down to simpler sentences…well…something. "Sleeping as in sex. They are not," he said firmly. "I know they don't sneak into each others…"

Wufei snorted, giving up all pretence of reading. "I hardly think they are the type to sneak…" he shut his mouth, his cheeks tinged red.

"**Was**," emphasized Quatre in a low voice, looking over Duo's shoulder towards the other two who were busy with their own work. "And still is. I should know."

"Eh," for once Duo was speechless as he looked up, meeting Wufei's eyes squarely. The Chinese boy was flushed and his book hung loosely in his hand.

It was not as if they had been lovers. 'Lovers' would suggest some sort of love or at least a relationship, but as far as they were concerned they were two friends who understood each other. It was not something that had happened suddenly and neither boy had been surprised by the turn of events.

When Trowa had taken him to the circus to heal and hide, Heero had been confused and silent… and hurting. He had continued to hurt while he had searched for the surviving family members of the pacifists, mainly the Noventa family, he had mistakenly killed and Trowa had continued to travel with him, from family to family, never commenting. Heero knew Trowa watched out for him; that the tall, silent boy did not have to travel with him to all his destinations. But he did - never interfering but always ready to jump in, should Heero require help.

Trowa knew Heero was aching inside, with guilt and broken bones, but he never said anything to try and ease his discomfort. He knew when to remain silent, since no words could ease the pain, just as he had known with Wufei, when the Chinese boy had come to stay with him. To Trowa, both Wufei and Heero were alike, trained to kill and expected to be perfect, their worlds crumbled when they failed. To them, failure was not an option.

Heero knew deep down that Trowa watched out for him, though he never commented on it, silently grateful. He knew that the taller boy need not have bothered nursing him back to health and go with him on his crusade risking Heavyarm. Though the OZ officials might have latched onto Trowa's presence after his fiasco at the circus, lying low might have been a better option than driving around the world with a large gundam. But he never commented on it, grateful for the silent support his companion gave him. He trusted Trowa to look after both of them, when the OZ officials had chased them with a car in Italy, waiting for his return in their prearranged meeting place, apple in hand.

And he knew Trowa trusted him in return when he let Heero sit in Heavyarms' pilot seat and take over the controls. Their gundams were more personal to them than their lives. No one messed with their gundams and for someone else to use their gundam in a battle meant ultimate trust. Heero never expressed his thanks aloud but Trowa knew.

Sex between them had been the same, silent and intense, searching for comfort and human contact, neither mentioning it the next day. They were not shy, there was nothing left to be embarrassed about when someone had treated your wounds, undressed you and cleaned up after you. There was only so much pride could do. And neither was ashamed of it. It was war and they were 15 years old; all alone against an enemy that seemed to have no bounds. It was impossible to live with prejudice and regrets. They took what they could.

The first time they had had sex, Trowa let Heero take him. The shorter boy was hurt and his body was not as flexible, so it was the obvious choice. There were no unnecessary displays of affection but neither did they hurt each other. They had two pillows between them, which was enough to tuck under Trowa's so Heero did not have to strain his body, and for lube they used some hand oil, which might have belonged to Catherine but had ended up in Trowa's bag (along with one of her socks but socks always ended up lost.)

Heero knew what he was doing, Trowa realized. He prepared him gently, without excess force, leaning briefly to nip his lower lip just as he entered him. Trowa bore down, his body relaxed, the pain not as bad a he had expected. Either he trusted his partner completely or Heero was much smaller than he had predicted earlier - and Trowa did not think his eyes deceived him. Heero balanced himself on his good arm, leaning onto Trowa as he thrust into him, using his uninjured leg as leverage. It might have lasted five minutes or five hours, they couldn't say, and in the end, they lay in a sticky pool of cum, panting softly. Neither said anything during or after sex. Trowa kissed him briefly, affectionately, on the forehead, more a like brother than someone who'd just had sex with him, then they rolled off in synchronization from opposite sides of the bed, and went to get cleaned up. It was not their nature to talk and it was not as if they needed to exchange phone numbers afterwards. It simply was…

Later on, it became a ritual. After each stop over, each family he had apologized to, and in return revealed his true presence to, Heero sought release in Trowa's arms. They were not affectionate in public and they did not exchange names until they had been lovers for over two weeks but to them it was not strange. The only person who might have come even close to understanding their relationship might have been Lt. Noin as she watched Trowa tell Heero about Heavyarms' controls, but she did not mention this. She had her own ghosts to fight and in the end, she thought she understood them better than anyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Duo had long since decided that it really wasn't his business, since his only priority was to keep himself alive until the war was over. Unlike certain other pilots, he was not suicidal and definitely not foolhardy enough to try and kill himself for the sake of the happiness of a friend. Even if it was for a good friend.

"Trowa," he said, as he approached the Heavyarms pilot, a little wearily, but pasting a friendly smile on his face, which bordered on stupidity.

"Maxwell," the other grunted without much enthusiasm.

"Going for the briefing?" Duo asked, rolling his eyes at his own idiocy. It wasn't as if they had anywhere else to go.

Trowa did not even bother to answer since the answer was pretty obvious.

"I wanted to talk to you about a mutual friend of ours," Duo started again. He wasn't one with high social skills but his was considerably better than those who went 'hn'.

"Quatre," Trowa grunted. '_First name_,' thought Duo. '_Can't be all bad_.'

"You know he likes you and it's not like you aren't into boys or anything and…" Duo decided that it was much easier to shoot down a carrier than try to match make. It was not something he had tried before, but he had thought that subtlety and Trowa just might not mix. Hence the direct approach, which he was seriously starting to regret.

"I don't have time for this," Trowa said, flatly.

"For this conversation or for Quatre?" Duo pressed, his back straight, his face serious.

"Both."

"Well, that certainly cuts to the heart of the matter," Duo said, snidely. "Want to tell me why? Answers with explanations are more clear cut than one word confirmations and …"

"I told you before…"

"Yeah," snapped Duo. "You don't have time for this. That's as lame an answer as it can get. It's not as if you didn't have time for Heero."

"That's different," Trowa said in a voice, which said '_I don't know why I bother to explain things to idiots_.'

"Oh," said Duo, edging closer, stepping into Trowa's personal space. "Do explain."

"I don't have time for little boys playing at war who'll go back to their businesses and resource satellites when this is all over," Trowa replied.

For a moment Duo was stumped. Long sentences from Trowa was equivalent of Heero wearing a dress. Then he understood what was being said and saw red. It was that, combined with Trowa's high and mighty attitude, which made him explode.

"How dare you," he hissed angrily. "Playing at war. Quatre doesn't play at war and you know that. You think you're so high and mighty but all you are is a …a…spineless idiot. Should I remind you that you were the one who couldn't self destruct his suit because some sobbing female said 'we need you'? Where were your resolutions then…."

"Catherine…"

"I'm still speaking," Duo shouted, mindless now that everyone else might be listening. "Quatre is more dedicated to this cause than you are, oh, 'Mr. I-can-switch-sides-when-I-want-to'(_He hadn't really forgiven Trowa for blowing up his gundam._) He was willing to sacrifice himself, so Wufei and I and could make it to space. He keyed his self destruct code, which was something you couldn't do, and he was willing to die so some of us would make it. Does that sound like some one who's playing…_**playing **_at war. Why you…." He stopped at once when a hand fell onto his shoulder from behind. Years of training made him spin around, ready to defend himself.

"It's ok, Duo," Quatre said firmly. His cheeks were pale and his lower lip was trembling, but he looked determined.

"Look man…" Duo said. i '_I'm sorry it was none of my business and I seem to have made things worse but I was only trying to help._' /i He didn't say that but still…

"Go inside, Duo."

"But…"

"I need to talk to Trowa alone," he said firmly.

"I…"

"Wait for me," Quatre said resolutely. "This shouldn't take long."

Glumly, Duo nodded and headed to the small partition they called a kitchen to sit and wait.

-----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

Quatre came in twenty minutes later, looking flushed and miserable. Duo hopped off the stool and walked to his friend…only friend of the lot…

"Look man…I'm sorry…."

"It's all right, Duo," Quatre said. "I know you were only trying to help and I was sitting on those feelings long enough. It would have complicated everything in the long run."

"What…what did he say…" Duo had to know.

"Nothing much," Quatre shrugged. "I simply apologized to him."

"What!" Duo shouted. "For what…that stuck up…"

"It was my fault," Quatre said with a shrug. "It is difficult for him without having me making puppy eyes at him." He grimaced. "And it's easier this way, now that everything's out in the open…"

"But…" Duo protested.

"Never mind," Quatre said, with a sigh. "He doesn't like me and that's the end. It's not like we … I…he needs me following him around with …with…like Relena does with Heero." he brushed back a single tear.

"Oh, shit," said Duo. "I'm sorry I messed it up."

"You didn't," Quatre said, turning around and burying his head in Duo's shoulder. "It's better to know for certain he doesn't like me, than to never know, right?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

"Why are we always infiltrating bases?" Duo whined, trying to keep up in spirit. "I mean, why we can't sneak into a pizza parlor or something."

No one, not even Quatre bothered to answer. They were standing in different parts of the room, too tense to sit, going over the mission plan.

"It's not that bad," Quatre said, going over the specs. He had a good strategic mind and could see holes in others' tactics. "We don't have to kill them while they sleep."

"We can wake them up and then kill them," Wufei said sarcastically. "I say we blow up the dorm first."

"It's a training base. Those are just rookies. Why not the suits hangar?" Quatre persisted. "We don't have to kill those people."

"The hangar is protected and to the back," Heero pointed out. "The dorms are closer."

"If we distract the perimeter guards then someone can sneak in and place the explosives…"

"Meaning you?" Wufei snarled. "You know you can't set up something like that fast and…"

"I'll do it," Trowa said suddenly. "I can sneak it and out easily and I don't think we need all four gundams for this. Heavyarms is running low on ammo anyway, so I'll save it for an emergency." Which was true. Heavyarms was the gundam, which used the greatest amount of missiles and bullets and the most likely to run out of ammo in a battle. And unfortunately, it did not come with its own armaments factory, which meant they had to find their own reloads from somewhere else.

"How will you get in and out?" Heero asked, his mind already computing the change of plans.

"I can find some transport," Trowa said, evasively.

"You can use Wufei's bike," Quatre said.

"No one touches my bike," Wufei snarled. "Why don't you go back to humping Barton's leg?"

There was a split second silence and then everyone exploded. Trowa jumped in front of Quatre his fists bunched, Heero stepped to intervene the only way he knew, physically, while Duo stepped in from the other side, with his hands spread out. "Uh, guys…don't…" and walked into Heero's fist.

When he could actually make his eyes focus again (this was the guy who could bend metal bars without breaking a sweat) he groaned at the four faces hovering above him. Heero and Trowa looked blank while Quatre looked worried. Wufei…looked like Wufei. However, he was the also the first person to move. He hauled Duo to his feet, turned his face to the side and felt down the cheek bone and lower jaw of the left side.

"Ou," Duo snapped. "I think it's broken."

"No such luck," Wufei said with a sneer. "Otherwise we'd all have enjoyed some quiet while your jaw stayed wired shut." Once the crisis was over, the others drifted away one by one. Quatre went to get the maps, reluctantly, at the prodding of Heero. ("Maps, Winner.") and Trowa drifted off. Compared to other battle injuries, a bruised jaw was nothing to write home about.

Quatre made to stop, his face still burning red, but Duo shook his head. They'd talk when there was no one around, and that included Wufei.

"That was a low blow," Duo said with a snarl as he turned towards at Wufei. "You should say such things to Quat…"

"Don't tell me what to say," Wufei said angrily. "And it's true anyway."

"What's with you people?" Duo raged in general. "I might be a street rat but am I the only one with social skills."

"What you have is not social skills, Maxwell," Wufei said. "It's called jabbering skills."

"Why you moron," Duo spat out. "You…"

"…are bleeding," Wufei said pointedly.

"Oh," said Duo feeling around the back of his mouth with his tongue. "Loose tooth I think." And suddenly there was a hand on his lower jaw with fingers pressing on either side. The pressure increased until the mouth was pried open and a finger probed inside. The long slender finger, calloused from hours of sword practice, investigated Duo's mouth.

"You have two loose teeth in the back," Wufei said blankly. "Don't bite anything from that side and…"

Duo's brain came alive. They'd all had basic first aid training (apart from Trowa, who could probably do field surgery) but his mind suggested that he might have missed out on this lesson. Narrowing his eyes, he looked straight at Wufei and pointedly snapped his teeth together, trapping the said finger inside his mouth. Wufei stiffened, his mouth open in a small 'o' and Duo took advantage of the surprise to hollow his cheeks and suck.

Even as he sucked, he let his tongue swirl over the digit, probing the tip, then spiraling down, while sucking softly. The finger tasted of soap and chlorine; the nail was short and Duo knew Wufei probably had the cleanest hands of the lot, physically, at least. Duo was also adding a few words to his vocabulary he had heard but not seen practiced before, like 'spontaneous combustion' and 'sudden respiratory failure'. Gundam pilots were thought to be physically fit, but from the way Wufei was turning an interesting shade of red / blue he was about to burst several major arteries in a row. Duo leaned back, letting the finger pop out of his mouth and smirked. "So!" he said with a raised eye brow.

There was three seconds of silence followed by, "Why you …you…" and Wufei stormed out, his face an interesting shade of maroon.

"What do you know," Duo smirked, feeling better all of a sudden. "Looks like Quatre isn't the only virgin of the lot."

------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1-----

The console beeped once before the yellow light came on. Trowa leaned back for one more adjustment before shifting forward and moving the control stick to lift the left arm. He had redistributed the remaining ammo, but still, it felt a little out of balance. Maybe…if he…The hatch popped open behind him and Heero came in.

Trowa looked up in acknowledgement, and then went back to calibrating his gundam. It was going to drag back if he didn't…

"I thought you weren't going to take your gundam tomorrow," Heero said in his flat voice.

"Might need it," Trowa said.

"Hn," Heero agreed, sitting down on the small plank, which served as a bed for the pilot, when needed. "I need you to time the charge tomorrow so that there's a five second delay after each one."

"You need time," Trowa said.

"I need to download some data from the computer there," Heero said. "Fuck me."

It was not an invitation. It was delivered in the same tone as the rest of his sentence but it was a request. Heero got tense before missions, though it was not something he advertised. It was a weakness he worked out of his system…with a little help, and Trowa understood him the best.

"All right," said Trowa, nodding lightly. "I'll save the changes and then join you."

Heero nodded and started to remove his shoes. Then his socks, shorts and tank top joined the neat pile, all ready to be worn in a second should he need to dress. He could fight naked if needed, but clothes gave an added physiological advantage. Then he lay back on the bunk, his knees bent, his feet flat on either side. Trowa joined him shortly after, also naked.

Trowa was built the same all over, long and slender. His fingers were long and sensitive as he prepared Heero, his face impassive; his bangs fell forward to cover his face. Heero did not respond until those talented fingers found the sensitive spot and pressed. He gasped a little arching up, then nodded. "Ready."

Trowa entered him steadily, not stopping even when Heero tensed a little, but not pushing too hard either; not that Heero would have admitted to being in pain. He did not wait until Heero had adjusted before pulling the shorter boy's legs up over his shoulder and moving. Heero did not speak as Trowa continued to thrust, his eyes shut, his lips pressed firmly together. It was something they were both used to, and though they had not had sex in a long time, it was as if they knew what the other needed. Trowa leaned forward as the pressure built up, his hand scrambling over Heero's head for something to hold on to, while Heero pushed back faster.

"Harder," Heero gasped, his voice unsteady.

Trowa moved faster; the sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the air, along with soft gasps. Trowa was close. He freed one hand and grabbed Heero's erection, and the Wing pilot complied, letting the taller boy bring him to an orgasm while he pounded him to the mattress, literally. Trowa continued to piston his hips, his face strained, as he reached his climax. For a moment he stiffened, then heshuddered, coming inside Heero in a final rush.

Reaching for Heero blindly at the moment, "Quatre," Trowa gasped out aloud.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n- thank you BigSister2, Moi-inconnue, snowdragonct, SanzoGirl(who was first) for the reviews. You have forced me to post this chapter well before I planned. I'm really happy to see people are reading the story coz it keeps me going. This chapter was betaed by Stray. All the mistakes present are mine.

Chapter 3

"Oh, shit," cursed Duo as everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

"You can say that again," Quatre said as he blew up _something_. He was sure it was a mobile suit but it had been on the ground. and maybe it was a ground unit which was…

Duo cursed again as a suit fired on him from the left, shaking him in his harness and making him almost bite his tongue off. "Quatre, what the…"

"Duck, you fool," Wufei's voice came over his frequency and Duo dropped his gundam to its knees, knowing when to trust his ally. It didn't stop him from making '_quack, quack_,' noises over the open frequency as a jet of fire flew over his head.

"What's taking them so long?" Quatre asked as he swiped at a mobile suit which was trying to sneak up behind him.

"Nothing they can't handle," Duo said, more as a reassurance, though he was sure Heero and Trowa could take care of themselves. '_Yeah, it was not like they'd stop for a quick blowjob on the way and __**where**__ had that idea come from?_' he thought as he fired up his scythe and did a full sweep, getting rid of a bug or two in the process.

The compound they were attacking came in two main sections, separated from each other by a distance of few kilometers. So both Heero and Trowa had to go in together to the main base, while the three of them caused a distraction at the training / testing facility. It should have worked out perfectly, since Trowa was to set up explosives and blow up the suits in the launching bay while giving time for Heero to download the data, before they blew up the whole compound.

They were to concentrate on the testing facility, and the suits there were not really set up for maneuvers. The test pilots, a mere handful since the introduction of the mobile dolls, always slept in a dorm away from the main hangar. All they had to do was keep the two separate and take out a few minor guards. The main base would send reinforcements when they realized a part of their facility was under attack, and if their calculations were correct, it would go sky high somewhere in between. With no base to return to and three gundams to deal with, the attack force would fall. Should fall…

Only, they had met with a _few_ drawbacks.

"They have dogs," Wufei had said when he'd come back from his scouting mission.

"We kill them," Heero said looking up from cleaning his gun. Simple.

"I'll go first," Trowa said softly. "I can handle animals better than you can."

"Are you going to kill them?" Duo asked looking up from where he had been snipping away the split ends of his hair. He did not like killing animals for the sake of war. To him, children and animals of war were the same. Roped into something they did not understand by someone higher up.

"Not if I can help it," Trowa said.

"It'll take too much time," Heero pointed out, coolly.

"I'll buy us more time," Quatre said. "We don't have to kill more than we already have to."

"All right," said Wufei with a scowl but nodding in agreement. "There has to be some honor in acting as bait to a bunch of morons."

So the three of them were acting like the decoy, trying not to use too much fire power and finish it off far too soon.

"Can we start blowing things up, uh?" Duo said in frustration.

"We don't bring out the big guns until everyone is out," Quatre said firmly. It they were to blow up the Training Base and there would be nothing for the Main Base to protect which meant they might turn their attention inwards esecailly with two of their number inside. "Anything you say, boss," said Duo, rolling his eyes.

"I'd say the two of you should stop chatting like old women and …ahhhhh." Wufei's voice got cut off abruptly

"Ok, double shit," Duo said opening up his scanners. He could see the heat signature for Sandrock, but Altron was nowhere to be seen. "Wu…where are you?"

"He fell through," Quatre's voice came over the speaker in his helmet. "There was a hole in the ground and…"

"Damn," said Duo scanning the ground for said hole. Anything a gundam could fall though couldn't be that small. "Found it," he said as he moved back. "Quatre, cover me. I'm going to…"

"I'm fine," Wufei said, sounding angry at his predicament. "Leave me."

"Already," said Duo. "You people always have fun with the self destruct buttons."

"Shut up, Maxwell," Wufei snarled. "Move forward."

"Who died and made you Heero?" Duo sang out. "Can you boost out?"

"No," there was frustration in Wufei's voice. "This was an oil storage silo…crude oil. It's blocking my boosters and if I fire, it might explode." And the chain reaction would blow up their target before time. Duo scanned the sides; they looked as if they would collapse inwards, trapping Altron, and it would take some time to get the gundam out. Altron was not Wing.

"You idiot," Duo raged. "Get out of there and we'll come back for Altron…"

"No," Wufei snarled back over the screen. "I'm not leaving…"

Duo knew what Wufei was feeling. The gundam and its pilot were linked almost to the point of death, which was why they never thought of leaving it till they'd run out of options.

"Plus, the sides are pretty close so I can't pop the hatch open," Wufei admitted reluctantly. "I'll crawl out somehow."

"Duo," Quatre's voice came over the com-link, calm, despite the fact he was keeping the ground arms busy by pinning them down with overhead fire. It was not going to take long. After all, Quatre had calculated they were only going to need two minutes, twenty seconds and fifteen milliseconds of distraction. He couldn't blow up the hangar while Trowa was still inside. "Get Wufei. I'll hold them off."

"Got you," said Duo lunging back to land, the legs of his gundam on either side of the hole. He could see where Altron had broken through -- and had fallen a long way down. He could barely make out the top of the head in the gloom of the oil reservoir. "Wufei, I'm going to throw my grappling hook down. Grab it."

"You fool," Wufei snarled back. "You should not bother with…"

"Fallen comrades," Duo said with a snicker. "But you really are in the pits this time, aren't you?"

Wufei had either not heard of bad puns or was totally humorless, since he did not react to Duo's last comment. It could also have been because Deathscythe's grappling hook had plunked on Altron.

"Just…grab it," Duo instructed.

"Can't," Wufei admitted reluctantly. "These sides are too close for me to deploy the fang straight up."

"Then, hang on," said Duo, folding over his gundam so it was in a kneeling position over the hole. That would give him cover should someone fire from overhead. He pushed open his hatch and jumped, winching down along the grappling line with practiced ease. The hook at the other end was heavy but he was strong. Not as strong as certain genetically modified cold blooded…well…back to business.

"I'm hooking you under the chin," Duo said over the com.

"Fine," Wufei grunted. Duo knew that the hatches were not programmed to open unless there was opening space. Another security protocol which they all could have done without.

"Done," said Duo then scrambled up the same way he had come down. "Heero couldn't have done it better, if I do say so," he said to himself as he sat back in the cockpit, then decided that Heero would probably not bother with someone stuck in the hole. He'd probably expect the person to kill himself or dig his way out with a spoon handle. "Hang on," he shouted instead. "I'm boosting up."

For a moment Duo thought they were not going to lift off. Altron, after modifications, was heavy and the crude oil seemed to suck the gundam down. His forehead was beaded with sweat and the left thruster started to overheat as Duo pushed his gundam to the limit. Then suddenly Wufei's mecha broke free of the pull of the viscous fluid and gravity, and they were spiraling over the tarmac. Even as they did, an explosion rocked them from the left.

"Quatre," Duo called, changing frequencies.

The blond came on viewscreen, looking pale but determined. "I had to blow up the dorms," he said. "They were going to bring out the mobile dolls but it's too soon. We made enough noise so people must have gotten out, but even if they hadn't, I didn't have much choice. The others aren't out yet and it was either us or them."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Trowa said as Quatre climbed down from Sandrock. "You had to do it."

"Yeah," said Quatre, looking slightly sad. "It doesn't make it feel right."

"Nothing ever does," Trowa said helping the blond down the last few steps even though he didn't need help. Duo didn't think of Quatre in terms of **nice**,** little** and **weakling**. Not since the Zero incident. But Trowa did act protective around him and Duo noticed the way the taller boy regarded Sandrock's pilot, as if he was something…important. Ok, maybe Duo was seeing things a little warped but hey, a guy could hope.

'_So_,' thought Do. '_Trowa cares for the Quatre …but what's holding him back?_'

As if in answer to his question, Heero emerged from the other side of the room, a bandage on his upper arm, face blank. Out of long practice, no one asked Heero how badly he was hurt or if he needed any medical assistance. If Heero was in need of medical assistance, he'd fall flat on his face and they'd pick him up. Anything else was merely a scratch. After all, this was the guy who set his own leg after breaking it.

As Heero appeared, he looked from Trowa to Quatre who were facing each other then stood waiting, as if he needed to speak to one of them. He kept his distance and did not look impatient but it was enough. Trowa's stance stiffened a little and Quatre would have to be blind not to notice it.

"I need to get dinner," the blond said and moved towards the partition they called kitchen.

"Are you alright?" Trowa asked softly. Didn't anyone notice his voice softened when he spoke to Quatre?

'_Say no,_' Duo urged mentally. '_Say no, and he'll come with you to the kitchen away from Heero-fucking-Yuy.'_

Apparently, Quatre was not telepathic. "I need some time alone," he said firmly, though his gaze lingered little on Trowa and then on Heero, as if sizing them up.

'_Dimmit,_' Duo raged internally. '_Heero, go away. They don't need you_.'

"Fine then," said Trowa as he moved towards Heero a little. "I'll be with Heavyarms if you need me."

Duo fumed. Both he and Quatre had seen Heero emerge from the Heavyarms cockpit the night before, and though neither had mentioned it, both knew that it had not been a casual 'can I borrow your spare spanner' visit.

'_How dare he_,' Duo raged. '_Trowa likes Quatre and all that's keeping the two apart is Heero._'

Duo made it his special duty to cheer up Quatre after he had killed a large number of people. This consisted of jokes, food and cuddling in a sleeping bag. Not sex. Sex with Quatre was like sex with your much, much younger brother, and Duo wasn't into incest. Most of the time, human contact seemed to make the blond more comfortable, and Duo knew that Quatre didn't look at Duo as anything other than a friend. However, Duo woke up in the middle of the night to an erection pressed to his middle, and someone nuzzling his neck. The fact that Quatre was murmuring something close to 'Trowa' was the only thing that stopped Duo from panicking. He pulled down the zipper on the side and rolled out carefully, leaving a pillow in his place. He sooooooooooo did not want this.

He walked on bare feet towards the main hangar and stopped. He could see the faint light, which meant someone was working on their pet project.

"Heero," mumbled Duo. "Maybe you should give it a break…" however as he walked in, he saw it was not Wing, as expected, but Altron that was undergoing repairs.

Duo winched up to the cockpit, more because he didn't want to go back to Quatre and his wet dreams than anything else. And given a choice between Heero and Wufei, Duo chose the Chinese boy hands down. Wufei looked up when Duo came in then grunted and returned to his fiddling with the controls.

"How bad?" Duo asked as he settled to sitting on the open edge.

"I'll have it ready by tomorrow," Wufei said. '_even if I have to stay up all night_,' remained unspoken.

"What are you doing?" Duo asked as Wufei continued to tinker down the open hatch.

"I disconnected the ground sensor to have an extra feed back for the forward scanner but after today…"

"Oh," said Duo. "I did wonder how that happened."

"It wasn't as if I expected the ground to fall out from under me," Wufei said. There was a tense pause as Wufei returned to his labors and Duo fiddled with his hair.

"Did you get the oil out of the boosters?" Duo asked finally to break the silence.

"Yes."

"How did you do it?" Duo asked. "I mean, that stuff is hard to get out. I remember the time I…"

"I fired the jets once and the excess burned away." Wufei snapped.

"How about the forward thruster," Duo pressed. "I saw your left side drag when you…"

"Maxwell," Wufei growled. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored," Duo said. "Aren't you bored?"

"I'm busy," Wufei said shortly before kneeling down to peer under the console panel. He opened the hatch below and …

"You're no fun," Duo teased as he swung his legs in. It wouldn't do for Wufei to accidentally close the cockpit and have his legs sliced through. "Talk to me 'Fei, I'm bored." '_And I don't want to have my leg humped my Quatre_.'

Remembering what Wufei had said in the kitchen earlier, he had to agree that there was some truth in it. But hey, they were fifteen so what did they expect? Perhaps, Trowa and Quatre needed time alone to talk things over. Privacy was, after all, hard to come by.

Duo inched forward on the cockpit floor (it had to be some male minded moron back somewhere who'd named it _**cock**_ pit) and watched Wufei's butt wriggle…a nice firm butt toned from hours of practice and hard work. He pushed a leg forward and brushed a toe up and down the white cloth covered behind, then leapt back before Wufei could turn around and break his ankle. "You have such a nice derrière," Duo said in his worst French accent.

"Maxwell!" Wufei roared and in an instant, he was on his feet and Duo was scrambling backward, wondering what he had poked his foot into. He was going to be killed just there and then; Wufei was better at hand to hand fighting and while Duo could move when he wanted to, he did not think he had enough space to maneuver inside a gundam and… "Why you worthless perverted…" Wufei seethed for a second before seeming to collect himself visibly and his body straightened. "Maxwell," his tone was flat. "Thank you."

"I can poke you butt anytime…"

"For earlier today, when you helped me out," Wufei finished.

"Oh," said Duo weakly. "So letting me live now is a good idea, right? You know, eye for an eye stuff - not that I mean an eye literally. Never know with you warrior types, so it's more like a life for a life and …"

"I owe you one," Wufei continued smoothly and bowed formally to Duo, who was still sitting on his floor on his bum, his legs spread out in front of him.

"Oh," for a moment Duo was speechless.

Wufei turned back to his work. Duo watched the way the loose white pants played against the firm behind and smile. "Does this mean we'll be even if you do something for me like pull me out of a tar pit or…"

"Leave, Maxwell," Wufei said, his back still turned to the 02 pilot.

"But you said you owe me," Duo protested. "Does that mean you'll be nice to me from now on?"

"You wish."

"But then what do you mean when you say you owe me one?" Duo wailed. "Come on Wu-baby, you're breaking my heart."

"Will you go away?" Wufei said exasperatedly.

"But you said you like me," Duo continued to wail, betting himself that in two more seconds, Wufei would finally snap and throw him bodily off Altron.

"Fuck off, Maxwell," Wufei snapped. _Hmm, the guy had gotten better at controlling his temper._

"Any time, anywhere," Duo said with false bravado though the thought had him mentally running to Quatre for comfort.

"That's it," said Wufei snarling in frustration. "Maxwell, I own you one favor. Ask me for something and if I can give it to you, I'll give it. Then you get out and walk away, and do not speak to me ever again."

"Wow," said Duo impressed. "A favor, anything like those damsels in distress who give their hero a …"

"I'm not a woman," Wufei said with as much anger as possible. "Name you price Maxwell if it meant keeping your mouth shut and get it over with. Then get out before I push you out."

Duo thought it over for two seconds before swinging off the gundam; he was going to collect his price after careful consideration. He was not one to squander away something given for free.


	4. Chapter 4

Laughter4

"Why do you keep on pushing him?" Quatre asked as he sat on the sleeping bag, cross-legged.

"What do you mean?" Duo asked as he sat next to his friend, braiding his hair.

"Wufei," Quatre said firmly. "You follow him around and you annoy him. Why in the world do you do that?"

"'Cause it's fun," Duo guessed haphazardly.

"I thought you didn't lie," the blond snorted then stood up, holding out a hand to Duo.

"Why can't I bug him?" Duo complained evasively letting the blond pull him up. Despite his boy-next-door look, Quatre was far stronger than he looked, and Duo had found that out the hard way during one of their sparing matches. "I mean, there's just the five of us and you can't even talk to Heero without getting a gun pointed at you and Trowa just ignores you."

"And Wufei reacts to you," Quatre said with a sigh. "Even if it's death threats, it's not as if he'd actually carry them out. If I wouldn't know better, I'd say you have a **thing** for him."

"Him," said Duo with a high pitched laugh. "Whatever makes you think that?"

"…."

"Will you look at the time," Duo ploughed through what was going to be a couple of points he would rather not hear. "Come on, before they start the party without us."

"Duo…"

"It's late and you know how the fucking perfect soldier is…"

"We are going to talk about this one way or another," Quatre's voice was laced with certainty and Duo nodded, defeated. He might be the one everyone termed the baby of the group but Quatre had more steel in him that all of them put together.

'_Fine_,' thought Duo. '_One thing at a time. Let's see if there's something to distract us_.'

The distraction, when it came, was not very pleasant.

"Why can't I go?" Duo said with a glare, which made no impression whatsoever on anyone else. After all they'd all been glared at Wufei and Heero so many times they'd all developed a natural immunity.

"We need your gundam for the mission in two days' time," Heero said. It was true; only Deathscythe could get through the radar of their next target. "It would be stupid if it got damaged before the required time."

"I'll go," said Quatre. "I don't have anything coming up until next week."

"No," said Heero.

"Why ever not?" Quatre snapped.

"Because Barton's going on this mission and I can't expect you to remain detached."

"WHAT!" shouted Quatre, his eyes blazing. He was on his feet instantly. "I can remain…_detached_…" he stressed the word with sarcasm. "You do trust me don't you?" he added, turning around to look at Trowa for confirmation.

Trowa did not reply but his silence spoke for him anyway.

"I don't believe this," Quatre fumed. "You think I'm a hysterical kid who doesn't know his priorities."

"No," said Heero sharply. "When you go on a mission Barton looses his objectivity as well. I cannot have you two blundering around. Chang, warm up Altron. You'll be backup."

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

"You really don't think it's unfair the way Heero keeps on trying to keep Trowa and Quatre apart?" Duo asked as he helped steady the leg joint so Wufei could wield it in place. It was a one person job but an extra hand made the work go faster and everyone knew Duo was the best mechanic of the lot. Having Duo meddle with their gundams was not necessarily a bad thing (though the time Trowa had had his pants glued to his seat had not been thought funny by anyone).

"You should leave him alone," Wufei said in a clipped voice as he started testing the hydraulic system.

"Who, Heero?" Duo asked mystified.

"Winner," Wufei clarified. "He can manage on his own. He's an extremely capable individual and you and Barton keep undermining him."

"Wait a second," said Duo swinging around to face the Chinese boy. "I do not undermine him. He's my friend. I watch out for him…"

"…because you think he's incapable of looking out for himself," Wufei pointed out smugly.

"No," said Duo then stopped. He did not lie and he needed to think this through. "Well, at least I don't order him around and tell him which missions to go to and what he can and not do."

"Perhaps if you thought less of others you'd have more time for a hobby," Wufei grumbled.

"Perhaps, if we left Quatre and Trowa alone they'd be able to figure out that they can make it work between the two of them," Duo offered. "After all…left wire…the red one and then see where the feedback is coming from…if Heero isn't around to influence Trowa…" he left the rest of the sentence hanging suggestively. Wufei didn't need everything to be spelled out to him.

"What do you have in mind?" was it his imagination or did Wufei sound a little worried.

"Well, you did say you owed me a favor," Duo couldn't help himself from smiling. "Just keep Heero busy so Trowa has more time to figure things out on his own. He doesn't get enough breathing space with Heero picking on him for everything."

"I don't think Barton is naïve," Wufei said pointedly. "He's the most sensible person here." '_Next to me,_' remained unspoken. "And if you think distancing Yuy from Barton is easy, you are mistaken. They are the two who's worked as a team the longest and they know each other very well. I will not whore myself for the sake of an insane plan you have cooked up."

"Whoa there man, who said whore? Not have sex with him," said Duo, realizing, even if Wufei had not, that this was an unspoken agreement. Still sex…"Just keep him busy so…ever think that maybe Trowa isn't all knowing when it comes to matters of the heart?"

"Yuy is an expert in such things, I expect," the sarcasm threw Duo off for a moment and he smiled. Who knew Wufei had that in him.

"So will you?" pressed Duo. "Just keep Heero on his toes until Quatre can convince Trowa he can be …" what do you say when you are fifteen and interested in the same sex "…can keep his head in a battle and still be together."

"You'd think Barton was the one who needed to convince himself," Wufei said, contradicting what he had said earlier. "Still, I have no idea what you want me to do, but I would if Barton and Winner started working together."

"Look," said Duo trying to mellow out the deal. "You don't have to do anything much. I'll do my stuff. You just have to help me a little in keeping Heero busy so that he doesn't automatically go to Trowa for everything he needs."

"Maybe, then I'd stop being the back up for every mission Yuy plans and be in the main attack force for a change," Wufei said, throwing up his hands in despair as a wire sparked then shorted.

"Here," said Duo. "Let me finish that wiring. Why don't you just tell him?"

"Because he's a true warrior," Wufei admitted reluctantly. "He has worked with Barton before and knows his limits so he's comfortable working with someone whom he is familiar with. It would be detrimental to his performance to work with a new …"

"Partner," Duo supplied.

"Do you really think that word is even there in his vocabulary?" Wufei snorted. "I'll hold the clamp down while you tighten the…the…" his cheeks colored a little.

"Can't say screw, now can we?" Duo said biting back laughter. As much as he wanted to pursuer that line of conversation, he was far too professional to stop his work to play giggling idiot.

Wufei looked up, loose hair falling over his forehead and…smiled. It was not the battle mode 'let's kill them all in the name of justice' smile. It was a nice smile, which made Duo hastily put down the wire and straighten his spine. "You are a born pervert Maxwell," he said. He was blushing, but for a moment Wufei Chang looked approachable instead of haughty and uptight, and annoyed at being caught blushing.

"Might be because you are a virgin," Duo said going for a kill.

"But I'm not," the Chinese pilot looked smug and for a moment Duo was flabbergasted.

"But…but…wow man, when and who was he…"

"He?" said Wufei, looking offended. "What makes you think it was a he?"

'_What indeed_,' thought Duo. Apart from the fact four of them had been showing signs of homosexual preference and those doctors who had chosen them had gone for similar specifications, for both the gundams and their pilots. "Was it Sally?" he asked.

"WHAT!" Wufei spluttered loudly, making Quarte and Heero who were working on their respective pieces of equipment look up. "No," he said lowering his voice. "She's _**old.**_ Almost **twenty**."

"That is old," said Duo thoughtfully. "So...who?"

"That is none of your concern," Wufei said slipping back to his role as uptight moron.

"So, you've never been with a guy?" Duo guessed, throwing the pilot of Altron off balance before he could regain his feet.

"What is it to you…"

"A simple no is a good answer to such a question," Duo answered his own question. "Ever been kissed by a guy, Chang?" The intimate nature of the question clashed with the use of the last name, which they used when they needed to distance themselves from each other. Gearing up for any situation, which could arise from the question.

"No," Wufei snapped then looked away.

Duo was curious by then, his eyes alight with mischief. It was so nice to see the perfect warrior riled to the point he'd almost clamped his finger to the connection.

"Want to be?" he smirked suggestively. He knew Quatre would never understand it, his propensity to tease people to see how far they'd go before they snapped.

"Is that an offer, Duo?" Wufei asked, making him freeze. The tone had been oddly, suggestive and the use of his first name had only made it sound more friendly.

It was time for him to back up, Duo knew. All he had to do was make a few jokes and take a couple of step back, say something about looking at the alignment of something, hydraulics then run off to safe harbor. After all, running and hiding was what he did best when faced with a situation he couldn't handle. "Maybe," he heard himself say.

Dark eyes looked at him, his expression expressionless.

"Hell, yes," Duo could feel a part of him cringing with horror but really, Wufei had admitted that he'd been with a woman. That technically made him straight, right? And straight guys didn't molest other guys.

Wufei looked up, his face unreadable, his eyes pools of emotions. "Let's go into Nataku," he said abruptly. Nataku, not Altron and that alone was enough for Duo to realize that it was serious.

Wufei's lips were soft. Compared to the rest of his body, which he held rigidly. Even if he had relaxed completely, Duo was sure the warrior would be all muscles and bones, with an underlying layer of gundanium. Duo let his body drape along the slender frame, knowing that Wufei was the strongest of them all, next to Heero. Where Heero could bend metal with his bare hands, Wufei could break it with a well placed kick.

Duo let Wufei take the lead, letting him deepen the kiss and as they did, he realized that at least some of the things Wufei had said were true. He knew how to kiss and he did kiss, but from the way he held Duo it was as if he expected Duo to crack like delicate china held too tight. His hold was tender and his hands did not wander towards the braided pilot's flat chest, almost as if he did not want to go there out of politeness as if …as if Duo was a girl.

Duo made a frustrated noise and pushed back. "I'm not going to break," he said. "You saw those OZ soldiers do a number on me. For god's sake, kiss me like a guy not a wallflower."

The grip on his upper arms increased but the pressure on his lips…Duo was slightly startled. He had been kissed…or at least the closest he could get to calling it a kiss, and each time it had been harsh and brutal. But Wufei had a tenderness to him that made him stagger a little. '_I'm acting like a chick_,' thought Duo even as he sank into the warm embrace, letting those lips ghost over his. They tasted faintly of grease and cheap ration bars, tastes Duo was familiar with, which helped him find his center. He slipped a hand around Wufei's waist, pulled the other pilot closer, letting him know that Duo was all male.

Their hands ghosted over each other's bodies and then they were kissing again…really kissing, open mouthed, tongues dueling. Then it was over as Duo broke free and moved back. He knew when to withdraw; too much passion and people got carried away and he knew Wufei was stronger than he was. He did not need the indignity of getting raped by someone he had pushed himself on to not five feet from his allies. Not that he would have cried out; he had too much pride but still…

"See," he said, trying to still his heart, which was pounding away. "That wasn't too bad was it?"

"From what you told me earlier," said Wufei. "I expected it to be less …."

"…pleasurable?" Duo asked with a knowing look getting his breathing back under control. Let the other boy think it was due to passion and not fear. "You think Heero and Trowa do something like this?" They both looked at each other then grimaced. That was about as probable as imagining Treize ballet dancing in a pink tutu "But tell you what," he added with a grin. "Whatever you dish out to keep Yuy busy, I'll pay you back, with interest in any way I can. After all, it isn't as if I'm not enjoying myself on this one."

Wufei nodded, his eyes unfocused, almost as if his mind was already elsewhere, contemplating a new mission.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Yuy," Wufei ground out as he strode after the blue-eyed pilot. "We need to talk."

Heero stopped in his tracks and turned around, scowling. Wufei reached the other boy in a couple of strides and stopped directly in front of him. However, once he'd reached Heero, there seemed to be nothing to say. What could he say? '_Maxwell suggested I distract you while Barton and Winner get some time out for themselves_' or better yet the expanded version '_Maxwell suggested I tell you in some controvert manner that you require to find sexual release with someone other than Barton since Winner is interested in him. Preferably me since you can't stand the sight of Maxwell, but I am not going to be having a sexual relationship with you just keep you busy until Maxwell is satisfied with the results._'

Going over both options, Wufei decided that the second was definitely better than the first one but still lacked the convincing tone. But he couldn't exactly lie. He did not have a creed which said he couldn't lie, but he did not believe in lying and he respected Heero's ability as a warrior too much to disregard him. Perhaps, Wufei thought, he lacked foresight. This should have been left for some appropriate time other than when Yuy had returned from a two day mission to some remote base in Antarctica.

"How did the mission go?" he asked instead. '_Brilliant_,' he scoffed mentally. '_Now I know why I leave Maxwell to deal with the human interaction angle_.'

"Successful," Heero said after waiting patiently for Wufei to speak. Or maybe it was a slightly dazed look. "Was there anything else?"

"You...you came into contact with the new prototype of the MS," Wufei said feeling around for a reason. "I wanted to know about their maneuverability before I go on my next mission."

"Hn," said Heero and there was a longer pause. Wufei wondered whether the super solider senses came with a lie detector and a pulse rate counter. "I…I'll let you know during the briefing."

"Very well," said Wufei and turned to go. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do whatever he had set out to do. Let Maxwell deal with Winner and his whining, and Barton's spineless actions. If Maxwell wanted to follow up on the debt then he'd have to find some other way. There was no honor in judging someone who fought so well. He was not blameless and even the best of warriors had his own quirks. Wufei was not going to criticize the way a person unwound after a battle. He mediated. Yuy found the same sort of release in sexual contact. Well, good for him.

He had actually walked a couple of feet before he realized that Yuy was standing in the exact place looking in the exact direction. "Do you need me to…call someone for you?" Wufei asked.

"Someone," Yuy repeated looking slightly off kilter or distracted. With those dark bangs over his face, it was harder to read his expression than Barton's. At least the circus acrobat had one part of his face uncovered.

"Barton perhaps," Wufei pressed. He knew he shouldn't do it but his curiosity got the best of him. He knew from what Winner knew (and therefore by default Maxwell knew) that there was some sort of agreement / understanding between Barton and Yuy, but he had yet to see any confirmation. For all he knew they discussed the best way to keep their faces impassive when being shot at late into night, when they disappeared into one or the others gundams, though he really doubted that.

"Trowa?" said Yuy sounding even more removed so Wufei decided to really push it.

"Yes," he said feeling his cheeks burn with embarrassment and shame. He would mediate until his treacherous mind was under control and he no longer burned with curiosity. "For …for…" well at least if he managed to force the words out, that is "…sexual gratification." Wufei was sure, had Maxwell been listening to the conversation, he would have been flat on the ground clutching his stomach, laughing.

"That is not necessary," Heero said in a flat voice. "I'm unable to achieve an erection at this moment."

'_Talk about direct speech_,' Wufei thought and his face felt as if it caught fire. Too bad he had to leave his shifu.1 before learning how to control his body completely. "Why?" The words were out before he could control himself. He knew of an almost extinct tribe, which believed self discipline was achieved by flogging themselves daily with bamboo canes and thorn tipped whips. He was going to obtain one of the two and flog himself, should he loose control of his mouth ever again.

"I am under medication," the dull voice answered the question with machine-like precision. "It numbs me in certain areas."

Wufei was still considering the types of canes that he almost missed the more important contents of his speech. "Are you hurt?" he asked and was given another blank look. Wufei rolled his eyes. "Status, Yuy," he barked.

"I have three bruised ribs and a couple of lacerations, blood loss, probable concussion…"

"Do you require treatment?" Wufei asked as he retracted his steps towards Heero.

"No, I have attended to my injuries already," he said and rolled up his black tank top.

Wufei had been a scholar, which meant he read. And when he'd been on L5, sometimes he had read sitting outside under the artificial sun while some of the younger girls of his clan would also sit around him, knitting or sewing. The females would sit on small rocks or smooth pieces of wood and bend over pieces of clothes where they would practice small stitches, which would later on be used to design elaborate patters on everything from formal gowns to pillowcases. Yuy's stitches would have made many of those female envious. They were small, neat, and followed the cut that nearly bisected his upper torso carefully. Wufei had a sudden image of Yuy standing in front of a mirror or a shining surface of the Wing stitching himself, taking care to be completely efficient since improperly healed cuts left scars, not for any aesthetic reason, but because the more scars you had on your body, the greater the chance of being recognized.

He did not know how he reached Heero or how he wound his hand around that slender weight but suddenly he was standing there with Heero leaning against him. Wufei looked around taking in his position. They were closest to his sleeping corner. Of course, Shenlong was closer but he didn't think winching up in Yuy's current condition was the best thing to do.

He helped Yuy sit on his sleeping bag and pushed him back until he was lying down. Heero was alert, Wufei noted. He did not have concussionhe said he had one, just now. If he had stitched himself in front of a mirror, he would be able to see, right?, his pupils dilated the same way; the bump on his head was only minor. He had only broken two ribs not three. The third was badly bruised and going to hurt a lot but, with Heero's amazing recuperating powers, should be all right in a couple of days. The cut in his middle was clean and neatly stitched; even Barton could not have done a better job.

Just to be sure Wufei connected him to an emergency i.v. he had with him and injected a booster. "Do you require anything for your…" _pain_. "What was it that you took?" Wufei asked instead.

"Hn," Heero said and already, his eyes were closing.

"Do you want any pain medication?" Wufei asked. He did not think whatever Yuy had taken was a sedative or a pain killer. They all knew what those did to their senses, and for Yuy to take something during the mission would mean it was something J cooked up, which probably helped him concentrate without messing up his reflexes.

Heero remained silent, his eyes open again, looking at Wufei's sleeping bag as if it was something he had never seen before. Wufei half expected the material to start smoking under the intensity of the gaze. "What happened, Yuy?" he asked finally. "I thought it was a fly-over-and-blow-up mission."

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

When he had flown over the base the last time, it had been with Noin and Trowa, going for a duel with Zechs, which he had never finished. The mission was simple. This was the base where Tallgeese was designed and Wing repaired; there was a rumor that the Romefeller foundation was trying to unearth the old records for it. It could not happen. While Tallgeese was not a gundam, it was damn good, and if the Wing specs were saved somewhere in computer it had to go. When the orders had come to blow it up, Heero had accepted. The base was abandoned, manned by a few technicians and fewer guards and Wing was the most suitable for the mission, able to fly the distance without a carrier, which was less maneuverable and easily detected.

It was the flight, which had taken up most of his time, avoiding radar. He had keyed in the route to the auto pilot, so that he could follow the same route back, undetected. There would be a time gap between him blowing up the base and someone higher up getting a report on it, which meant the holes in the radar cover would not be closed. It had been a simple hit and run even the stupidest OZ solider should have been able to do with his eyes closed.

When he'd brought up the base on his scanners, the first thing he'd noted had been the sentry posts, empty fuel canisters which lined the perimeter fence and the towers. Then he'd magnified the view and …

"Relena." It was more of a reflex action than anything else. To him, all girls with straight blond hair looked a little like her in the distance. And he would not have been very surprised had it been Relena. She had the most annoying habit of following him and showing up where he least expected her to be, making her presence known very clearly. On closer inspection, she looked nothing like Relena. She was dressed in a ridiculously short skirt, a warm coat, which was open in the front, legging, and those stupid pink boots which didn't stop the cold at all. He stared at the scanner for a while, not believing his eyes. No one had told him there were civilians on the base.

He'd gotten off Wing and trekked through the snow, shivering in his shorts and tank top, but wanting to know. He just couldn't do it, any more than he could let the army attack the civilians he'd seen on his way to the Sanc Kingdom with Quatre. She was outside the perimeter fence, which was a security hazard, but the guards were slack, not expecting an attack, and the girl was flirting with them in an artless way which made them smile. Heero waited until she was directly underneath a guard tower, so that whoever was on top couldn't see her, and emerged from his hiding place behind a couple of empty fuel barrels.

"Oh," she said startled, her eyes open wide. Face to face, she looked nothing like the Queen of the World; she was taller, slimmer and had teeth, which stuck out. She wasn't even particularly pretty, just plain mousy looking.

"What are you doing here?" Heero demanded.

"Why aren't you wearing anything for the cold?" she'd asked in return. "Where is your coat?"

"Why are you here?" Heero demanded back in frustration. She wasn't supposed to be here. It was wrong.

"I'm here for the holidays," she said finally just as he was about to … do something. "My father works here so we all came for a holiday."

A technician had brought his family over for a vacation. Heero couldn't believe how unprofessional these people were. "Are there any other civilians present in the compound?" he asked.

"Civilians?" she repeated looked slight stunned. He might as well have spoken in another language. "Here, put this on, you're shivering," she added taking off her coat and holding it out to him.

He took it automatically; the material was thin but he knew it would keep him warm but he could not understand why she had given it to him the first place. He was total stranger who had shown up from nowhere and here she was handing out articles of clothing to him as if he was a friend. However, he didn't put it on, not just because it had some painfully feminine pattern on it. His sneakers were soaked through, his toes were freezing and he did not think it would help for him to loose a couple of digits to frost bite. He had to move quickly before his presence was detected, and he was wasting time standing there talking to a girl who was making him appreciate just how intelligent Relena was. "You will have to leave the base immediately," he told her.

"Leave," she parroted back. "Why? Where will we go?"

He couldn't tell her why. He wished he knew what to say to convince her. He was not Maxwell with his charming tongue. The longhaired pilot could charm any female into doing anything for him while making them think they were doing it for their own good. He had talked that OZ soldier, Hilde, into letting him escape and sacrifice herself on his behalf, which was no easy task. Heero found himself wishing Duo was there. Had he been here, he would now be persuading the girl to pack her bags and leave with her entire family, while thinking he was an innocent boy who'd come out for a stroll. "You will have to leave…"

"I heard you the first time," she said, her eyes curious. She was still not scared, her life was too comfortable for her to imagine someone wanting to kill her or her family. "Would you like to come in, we have hot chocolate?"

Heero had the feeling he was living in a dream. "I will kill you," he said in frustration. His orders were to destroy the base and he would, even if it meant killing her, though he didn't know if he could do it. He remembered Relena standing there, among the ruins of her birthday party, calling out to him, challenging him to kill her. He had been unable to complete the killing blow, he had protected her.

She seemed to have realized something. "Oh," she said. "You're one of those pilots we were told to keep an eye out for." Still no fear. "But you're just a kid."

"You will have to lea…"

"Miss Sara, who're you talking to?" He's stayed far too long and he had been compromised by a patrol. The guard rounded the corner just as Heero turned around. He took him out with a chop to his throat, knocking him down on to the hardened snow. There were five other guards in the patrol, which was pretty unusual given the lax security. They had probably all come out because they'd know that the girl was outside at this particular time and had been bored.

He pushed them aside, knocking them back, and run toward Wing. He needed to get into the cockpit and complete his mission before …the snow on either side on him explored as the guards on the tower found their weapons, and he fell in a flurry of blinding white. The side fuel containers had not been completely empty or had been rigged for this sort of situation, and two of them blew up, showering him with metal shrapnel. There was a sharp pain in his middle and his left side burned but he ignored it; he was still mobile and 80 active. However, he was still on his back, blood from a head wound obscuring his vision, the snow burning his skin, panting, feeling the warm blood flow down his middle, and he could taste blood on his lips.This sentence is way too long. Those on the tower were bringing around their guns, slow to react but finally getting there, and even he couldn't outrun machine gun bullets.

"No," the girl shouted, and suddenly she was standing between him and the bullets. "You'll kill him. He's just a kid."

Heero had looked at her then and seen the inevitable. Someone was already relaying the information over a com-unit that Miss Sara was found fraternizing with the enemy and saving his life. She had brought him a few precious seconds and he had to make full use of it.

Heero had overpowered the first snow mobile heading his way and made a beeline to his gundam, powered up Wing then taken to the sky. He'd circled around, taking down four Leos and two new prototype mobile suits before aiming his beam canon and taking out the base completely. After the fire and the debris had settled, he'd called up the base on the view screen from as many angles as possible. There didn't seem to be any survivors. He didn't bother to set the heat scanners; with the fires still burning, it would have simply confused the sensors. Just as he was doing one final sweep of the area to be sure, he'd noticed something moving far off to the left. He'd zoomed onto it and seen the coat. It had been the one she'd taken off and given to him, all white with pretty pink hearts and flowers. It had gotten blown away in the explosion and landed relatively unharmed and was now waving in the breeze.

On the way back, his right arm had started to cramp and it had taken two injections from a special muscle relaxant to get it under control. Then two more to keep him awake for the entire trip back. He'd had to change the route and fly over a new one, skimming the ground where needed, to confuse the searches, doing it manually to keep himself alert.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

"You killed her," Wufei said as he took off the sneakers. He did not condemn his actions but voicing it seemed to make it clearer for him. A part of him marveled Heero's genetic make up. Had he been on that freezing snow, he'd be suffering from frost bite or would be probably dead.

"They would have taken her in as a traitor," Heero tried to explain. "She and her family would have been tortured, questioned and executed. The only people they keep alive in prison cells are the gundam pilots and even we were considered expandable in the end. What I did was quicker."

"I know," Wufei said, looking away. He knew that war did not differentiate between children and adults.

"I had no choice," Heero mumbled. He was coming down from his high.

"Sleep, Yuy," Wufei said getting up. "You'll live."

"Don't go." The world crystallized into sharp colors and hard lines at that moment. Wufei froze while Heero gripped the sleeping bag with one of his hands. "I'm sorry. You must be busy. Can you call Trowa please?"

'_Is that how you put your demons to rest?_' Wufei thought as he knelt beside Heero. "Heero," he said softly. "I'll stay until you fall asleep." It did not seem a chore all of a sudden. Duo was off on one of his on his sneak mission on Deathscythe and Barton was inside with Winner. It did not seem as if Heero was going to have sex with anyone anytime soon, and he could at least keep his word to Duo and give those two some time alone. He could see Duo's frustration where Trowa and Quatre were concerned. They would be getting on well and all of a sudden, Heero would show up and it was as if a switch had been pushed and they were back to square one.

"It's not necessary," Heero said, probably regretting his weakness already. In reply, Wufei sat, lotus-fashioned, on the sleeping bag next to Heero, silently, letting his presence be felt but not invading the other boy's space. "I will be ready for a de-briefing in an hours' time," he said carefully. Listening sharply, Wufei could feel where the words were starting to slur.

"Why in the world did you take that if coming down is that hard?" Wufei asked surprised.

"I can take it in the form of injections every eight hours for three to four days with no side effects and perform at maximum capacity," he said slowly. Wufei could see the strain it caused for Heero to form coherent sentences. "I no longer need it."

'_Do you_?' thought Wufei. '_Why are you struggling to stay awake_ _then_?' And he had trusted them enough to come back to sleep it out.

"Has Duo gone for his …his…"

"He left yesterday," Wufei answered quickly. He took in a deep breath, smelling the blood, sweat and dirt from his fellow pilot. Their gundams did not come with inbuilt wash rooms and after three days inside a cockpit, Heero smelled pretty rank. But it was a smell they were all familiar with and Wufei did not comment on it. But to have walked in freezing conditions in nothing but a pair of shorts and a tank top… He pushed back the dark bangs to feel the forehead in a gesture of kindness; it was cool and clammy - no sign of fever. Suddenly there was an iron grip around his wrist and he was pulled down towards Heero. Wufei forced himself to relax even as his mind supplied with the best method to break someone's wrist and how to apply a nerve pinch on someone stronger than him. He should not have reached out with out warning; tired or not Heero was still a soldier and he did not let his guard down easily.

He was lying down next to Heero, face to face. The dark blue eyes were bright and alert, almost as if 01 was overriding the effects of the drug by shear will. "Have you been involved with another male?" he asked.

Wufei would have laughed, had it been anyone else, since Duo had asked him the same question less than a week before. He had thought it over several times, wondering why he had accepted Duo's offer in the first place. Perhaps had been the challenge in those violet eyes which said '_I know you won't'_ or the fear, which replaced it when he saw Wufei accept the challenge. He had been able to practically smell fear as it had rolled off the braided pilot, and he had been curious as to how far Duo would go to show he had no fear. "I've kissed one," he answered truthfully.

Suddenly he was pinned to the floor by a weight on top of him and the pressure on his wrist increased to the point he was sure he could hear the bones crack. His head hit the floor hard, even with part of the sleeping bag cushioning him, and there was something on his lips. The pressure caused his lip to burst and blood filled his mouth, his teeth shook and just as abruptly as it had started, it was over, and there was a dead weight on his chest.

Wufei sat up, pushing the limp form of Heero Yuy off him. It took him a couple of seconds to figure out that he had just been kissed by the perfect soldier. Unfortunately, it felt as if he had been punched pretty badly instead and he concluded that Heero hadn't probably brushed his teeth in two or three days either. He got to his feet carefully and shook his head. Sometime during his training, Heero had come to think of human contact and comfort as sex, or something related to it. It was probably the only way he knew how to connect with people other than shooting them.

Everyone had their own inner demons to fight. Everyone… and they fought in different ways.

Wufei sighed as he made his way towards the other two. He was going to brush his teeth, then inform Trowa and Quatre that their fellow pilot was back. Then he was going to go back and keep watch over the sleeping solider until his nightmares were brought to rest.

1 is the Japanese form of the Chinese concept rendered in Mandarin as shifu. The basic meaning is "master," in the sense of one who has mastered a skill. It does not necessarily imply a teacher, though the teaching connotations are stronger in Japanese than in Chinese. And it definitely doesn't imply a martial arts teacher, Mr. Miyagi notwithstanding.

The characters for "sensei" actually correspond to "xiansheng" in Mandarin--a fairly neutral title (gentleman) that's more like "mister" than "sensei."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/n- most of the spellings, I've found on Wikipedia

"Where're you going?"

Wufei spun around, then relaxed as he saw Duo watching him curiously, his braid half undone, looking half asleep. He was dressed in a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt, which probably belonged to Quatre. He ran a hand over his face a couple of times and yawned widely.

"I've… got to go," he said evasively, as he rolled up his sleeping bag and put his books in his back pack.

"You aren't sneaking out, are you?" Duo asked curiously, leaning against a three-legged table, which served to divide their sleeping areas, looking for the world as if he didn't care whichever way the answer turned out to be.

"I'm not sneaking out," Wufei snapped, more because it had been what he'd planned to do. Not exactly sneak out but at least wait until the last moment before telling the others. He didn't need them and he operated alone; it was better that way. "I'm going to take Altron and it's not something I can tip-toe away with."

"But still," Duo protested, walking forward. "Does Quatre know you're leaving?"

The 04 pilot was the one who kept them all together, using reason and force where necessary, ironing away the rough edges and making them work as a team. It seemed his main aim in life was to ensure that all five of them where fed and cared for as if he had realized that among the five of them, he was the only one who'd had a privileged life. Quatre was the one who had brought all of them clothes and found a place where all five of them could hide and work as a team.

"I'll tell them as soon as they wake up," said Wufei, raising an eye brow inquiringly.

"Quatre's not up yet," Duo answered, shaking his head. "He didn't even stir when I got in last night and I should be sleeping too, instead of trying to find out why anyone would use the outhouse instead of our inbuilt deluxe…I don't know about the rest but if I heard you moving around then Heero and Trowa must have heard you as well." He yawned again, arms over his head, his t-shirt riding up to reveal a washboard stomach with a foot shaped bruise on to the left. Although he'd made his mission sound like a walk in the park he hadn't walked away unscratched.

"How did it go?" Wufei asked, ignoring the obvious. If Maxwell wanted to talk about it, he would.

"Compared to everything, fine." Duo shrugged. "I left Deathscythe a couple of miles from here, didn't want to lead anyone to the safe house…just in case. Will have to go back and pick it up later on." The gundam might not show up on radar but a fifty foot metal structure was really hard to hide in an open space and everyone was weary of those.

Which explained his late night return. Wufei had been up until later, going over his systems, and had seen Duo and Quatre in a tangle of limbs, in the pale over head lights. Wufei knelt down on one knee to pack the last of his items and closed the zip, when a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up slowly to find that Duo had moved much closer to him without setting off his proximity alarms. "Where in the world are you running off to?" he asked. "You know the war is over, you don't have to hide from us as well?"

"Is it?" Wufei asked, still bend over the place where he had slept for the last couple of weeks. "People are still fighting, trying to hold on to the last vestiges of power. Some of them don't want peace and they don't want us either."

"Sheesh, man," said Duo, sounding amused. "Do you mind? It's a little too early for this shit. What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," said Wufei straightening, pushing Duo's hand off his shoulder.

"At least, let us know you'll be safe whereever you're going," Duo said, hands on his hips. "We'll contact you on one of your old frequencies from time to time, you know… when Quatre gets us that new safe house with attached bathrooms, hot water and actual beds."

Wufei had long since decided Duo was obsessed with hot water, probably since he spent so much time washing his hair. "I'll… be back," he admitted finally. He might have operated alone but now that the actual war was over, he didn't have a reason to live for. It seemed the fractions disputing the Queen of the World were getting smaller, and White Fang was but a small group of insane space pirates. They all assumed trouble would come, and that was what kept them going because, like once Quatre had pointed out, without anything to fight for, they became obsolete. Redundant at sixteen was not something they were used to and Wufei had found out that he was comfortable only when he was with his fellow pilots. No one laughed if you ducked when a car backfired or if you slept with a gun under your pillow. They had been through a lot and their shared experiences put them apart from anyone else in the world.

"You'd better," said Duo with one of his cheeky grins. "Any particular reason you're running off…? If it is because of something I did…"

Wufei looked up, his eyes fierce, and though Duo did not pull back, his grin faltered.

"Idiot," he snarled. "Of course not. Sally called and said she needed my help. There is a small force of OZ soldiers holed up somewhere in the mountains and she needs me to clear them out." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I owe her…even if she is a woman… and…"

"And to think _you think_ you're straight with an attitude like that," Duo said rolling his eyes. "Does this mean I get a good bye kiss, at least?" He edged forward until he was standing chest to chest with Wufei, his posture relaxed. Looking down, Wufei could see that his fists were clenched and his legs were tense, almost as if bracing himself for a blow.

With a sigh, Wufei dropped the bag he was holding and used his left hand to cup Duo's chin.

"Hey," said Duo protesting, jerking his head back. "I…" poke finger in the chest "…am not…" poke "…a woman. You don't go all mushy on me as if…"

"It's the hair," Wufei said biting back a smile before reaching for Duo again. He used both hands to steady the other pilot by the shoulders dragged him up and captured those lips with his own. Duo stiffened for a moment then molded himself into the embrace, his body still ready break free at a moment's notice, but a little more relaxed than before. This time Wufei put all his 'less than considerable' skills into it, letting his instincts guide the motions. He pulled Duo close, until their chests were pressed together, while the analytical part of his mind told him that it was very bad position to be in since he couldn't defend himself. It was Duo broke off first after half a minute, panting slightly.

"Wow, man, I know you can hold your breath but you really don't want me to pass out on you, right?" he joked, his face flushed and Wufei could see his pulse hammering away at the juncture where his neck and chest.

In reply, Wufei leaned forward and let his tongue run over the skin of his neck, feeling minuet scars under the sensitive skin. In return, Duo tipped his head back, eye fluttering shut, almost involuntarily, biting back a moan and Wufei had to sneak a hand around Duo in case he leaned too far back.

"You have to bring out your arsenal, now you're leaving," Duo said, his eyes still tightly closed, his chest heaving slightly. "Where'd you learn to do that? I thought you were the most repressed guy of the bunch?"

"That really doesn't matter, does it?" Wufei said, feeling a little pleased with himself. "I told you I had experience."

"Yeah?" Duo said with a self-deprecating grin, standing straighter but making no move to break free. "After that, I must be like a rank amateur where kissing is involved."

"It's still better than Heero's," Wufei said trying to make Duo feel better. "The time he kissed me, I wound up with a split lip and…"

Suddenly he was being pushed against the wall by the lapels of his collar and an angry face was thrust into his view. "What do you mean better than Heero. You kissed the guy! You …you…when did you kiss him? Or was it more than a kiss?"

"Duo," said Wufei calmly, ignoring the voice inside his head, which was suggesting a couple of punches to the stomach, followed by a kick to the groin and another to the knee. It was almost as if he was inside Zero.

"When was this?" Duo asked, the grip slacking but not letting go entirely. "Long time back?"

"While you were on the mission," Wufei said, realizing how it sounded the moment he said it. "But it wasn't exactly as if the two of us have an agreement or anything." He added defensively.

"Of course not," said Duo, pushing off and stalking off. "I was gone two days and you turn into a slut." He was walking around in a circle, throwing his hands up in the air, his posture one of aggression and hurt. He looked slightly ridiculous in his get up but at that moment Wufei did not think it wise to point it out. "I know it wasn't as if we said we were in a life long commitment or something but give guy a little warning. You and your stupid ideals and you suck face with Mr. Perfect Solider the moment my back is turned. What's with that guy…? I mean, he's got the personality of sand paper with acid thrown on top, and you have people falling all over him? You'd think that stupid chit Relena would look at someone who's not out to kill her or Trowa would find someone else to … to play whore with but… noooooooooo, it had to be him."

"You are jealous," Wufei observed.

"Oh no," said Duo stopping his pacing to face Wufei, looking aggressive. "It's not as simple as that. I can't believe you…"

"It was an accident," Wufei said. "It wasn't as if I planned on…"

"I don't want to know," Duo said, turning away. "Like you said, it wasn't as if we were married or anything." He pretended not to notice Wufei wince. "You were going to go, so go. Just as well if I never see you EVER AGAIN" He shouted the last words out over his shoulder, his eyes blazing. Wufei could see the God of Death peeking out at him, but also a confused teenage boy who didn't know what to say.

"Uh," said Wufei.

"I don't like your slant eyes or your oily hair," Duo pouted and though he must have said that with every intention of riling Wufei, the only thing the Chinese pilot could think was that Duo looked adorable when he pouted.

"What's all the shouting about?" came a dazed voice and Quatre shuffled in, looking for the world like a five year old with tussled hair, shorts and a shirt, which was buttoned wrong.

"Justice is about to leave the building," Duo bit out acidly. "For good."

"Already?" said Quatre blinking himself awake. Suddenly his lips twitched into a teasing grin. "Do stay for breakfast; it was long night for some of us."

In the end, there was no time for breakfast with Heero showing up to demand where he was going, probably to make sure their missions would not overlap. The war maybe over for the civilian population but they were still moping up the mess and a mission was mission on matter what. It would not do to accidentally shoot a fellow pilot while infiltrating the same base from two different sides. No one wanted to wind up on the wrong end of a sword.

It felt strangely odd to leave when everyone decided to see him off, in their own way.

"It was stupid of you to disable your ground scanners," Heero told him as he did the final system overhauling on the computer. He also entered the known mission parameters just in case it turned sour. Wufei looked up from the keyboard at the silent boy who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest, legs crossed. Heero didn't even look at him while speaking, choosing to study the floor instead though Wufei knew that he was very, very alert.

"I know," said Wufei when it became obvious that nothing else was forthcoming.

"Next time, scan everything," Heero said firmly. Wufei turned around to ask what he meant but by then the spot where the dark haired pilot had been was bare.

Trowa caught up with him as he was about to get into the gundam. "Take a carrier," he said as if it was the most natural thing.

Wufei hesitated, knowing that his gundam could not fly and being caught out in the open with such a huge machine could result in a few unnecessary fights but still… They only had three carriers and even with Wing's flight capabilities, it would mean he was going to leave them short of a means of transportation.

"Rashid will show up with a carrier for Quatre," Trowa said quietly and Wufei nodded, taking in the unspoken message.

"Thank you," he said, looking up to meet with one green eye and that annoying swatch of hair he had always wanted to brush away. Trowa had nodded once and walked off silently as if he hadn't been there. Wufei watched him with a frown then turned around and almost ran into Quatre who was standing directly behind him.

"I don't know much about where you're going but do you need supplies?" he asked calmly.

"Supplies?" Wufei asked in surprise.

"Yes, you know food, clothing, bandages?" Quatre said pronouncing slowly as if he was a halfwit. Seeing Wufei's face change color, he suddenly smiled, kindly. "Wufei, this is the first time all five of us have been together since the Peacemillion, and no matter what, you going away is making people uneasy."

"What in the world for?" Wufei snapped, more to cover his confusion than anything else.

"You know why," those eyes were penetrating and Wufei was the first to look down. "We worked as a team and we've bonded… so try to get back as soon as possible." He continued, not letting Wufei speak. "Take something to eat if you want to," he said. "Rashid always brings food and I don't know about Sally but having a couple of cans stashed somewhere is always a good idea."

"I don't have the time to…"

"Trowa is getting one of the carriers ready and it'll take some time for Heero to load Altron into the back," Quatre said. "Why don't you speak to Duo before you leave?" he added. "He seems to think you aren't coming back."

Wufei ignored the last comment in favor of packing a few dried rations and few bars of chocolate to keep himself going. He didn't know what to think of Duo and his behavior and as a result was starting to find the whole thing frustrating. He was not anti-social, as most believed. Instead, as a warrior, he simply lacked the knowledge to interact with people; after all, it wasn't as if he'd had conversations with his sword.

Finally, he was ready, and by then the only person in the hangar area was Duo who was pointedly not looking at him. Wufei shouldered his backpack and walked towards the driving side of the carrier when he stopped. He just couldn't leave without saying anything, and he did remember what Quatre had told him. He kept on walking until he was standing alongside Duo, but did not look at the braided boy. Instead, he looked down and spoke softly. "Look after my bike until I come back," he said. He heard a faint gasp of surprise and the swish as the braid cut through the air, which meant Duo had snapped his head around but he didn't wait to see if there would be any last words.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111----

"What was all that about?" Quatre asked as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Duo said as he shook his head when the blond motioned him towards the tea pot.

"Wufei," Sandrock's pilot said.

"You don't beat around the bush do you?" Duo asked grumpily.

"What in the world happened between the two of you?" Quatre murmured. "One minute you were all over him and today you were shouting the house down as if…"

"He kissed Heero," Duo said as he slumped into the chair. "And he was supposed to be mine."

"I didn't know you two were an item," Quatre said.

"It's insignificant," Duo said sitting up, pulling his legs under him. "I mean we are not… all right, it's not like I'm in love with the guy or anything, but he is …impressive. You weren't there in the OZ prison cell when we were running out of air; he was so calm about it and he could put himself into this suspended animation state…" he trailed off when he saw Quatre regarding him with amusement over the rim of his cup. "He was great, all right. So…I like him…you said it before or did I say it. And we did kiss and he didn't exactly say no."

"When was this?" Quatre asked carefully.

"Before I went on my mission, and don't you use that Mr. Winner voice on me," Duo said in one breath. "Here, give me a cup of tea. It'll give me something to do, even if I don't have to drink it."

"So you came back and found him in lip-lock with Heero," the blond pressed.

"I don't know what happened," Duo mumbled looking down at his hands, blushing slightly. "He told me, it's not like I saw him. I didn't exactly ask him to explain… but I do like him. I just never got the time to tell him that and before I finally do, Heero just waltzes in and grabs him from under me."

"It's not as if Wufei had a brand on him," the blond reasoned, pushing a dainty china cup into Duo's hand. "Are you sure you're not getting your feelings mixed up over everything? You were trying to keep Heero away from Trowa because you seem to think Heero is a big villain, and then you find out he's making moves towards the one guy you liked."

"Not exactly…" Duo protested and was given a stern glare.

"But I don't think even Wufei knew you like him so you can't blame him," the voice of reason said. "Unless you told Wufei. I seemed to have missed out a bit on the mating rituals of gundam pilots somewhere along the way."

"There was no one else to…you know," said Duo, biting back the urge to say something crude just for the sake of making Quatre blush. "…to make a move on. I mean," he added hastily. "Trowa is nice but you are already interested in him and…"

"He's either getting laid or being laid by Heero," Quatre said with a wry smile as Duo spluttered the first mouthful of tea he'd sipped.

"I can't believe you said that," Duo gasped as soon as he could catch his breath.

"I can't believe you fell for Wufei," Quatre countered.

"Why ever not?" Duo shot back. "He's got a better personality than Heero."

"And you figured that out by tossing a coin, right?" Quatre gave back.

Duo suddenly threw back his head and laughed. "All right," he said tossing back the tepid tea in one gulp. "You win; score 1 to you and …"

"Message to you from the Maganacs," Heero appeared suddenly as if he had been standing out side the door and both boys turned around startled.

"What does it say?" Quatre asked once they'd both recovered, looking at Heero's palmtop.

"They will be delayed," Heero said without looking either of them directly. He gave no indication whether he'd overheard their conversation or not, but it was too late to take back his words.

"For how long?" Quatre asked in his infinite patience. Duo rolled his eyes and waited.

"Two weeks at the most," Heero answered.

"Oh, man," Duo wailed half-heartedly. "Do you know what that means? No chocolates. Wu took the last of the lot and now we're all dried out."

"We also don't have enough proper food to last us another two weeks," Quatre said as he swept his eyes across the kitchen. "One of us will have to go for supplies."

"Pick me, pick me," said Duo pretending to jump up and down in eagerness.

"Send Trowa," said Heero abruptly.

"Why not me?" said Duo miffed.

"You stand out," Heero said pointedly looking at him. "Your hair attracts too much attention. Barton is a much better choice." They were lying low dispite everything. No one was going to be treating gundam pilots as war heroes.

"Says who?" Duo snapped back.

"Duo, drop it," Quatre said firmly.

"Fine," said Duo, knowing that he was getting aggravated over a minor detail. After all, Trowa was the best bet. He was silent and polite, and people seemed to treat him like an adult because he was taller than the rest of them. Quatre did not shop very well since he never seemed to understand the words 'economize' and 'limited budget'. Heero tended make the shop keepers uneasy and reaching under their counters for the hidden button, and Duo always left the shop with more than he'd paid for. All of which made them unsuitable for shopping when they were supposed to be 'lying low'.

"You should cut it," Heero continued with all of his amazing people skills.

Duo froze halfway towards the inner exit. Quatre froze reaching towards his tea pot. There was a stunned silence.

No one ever, ever said anything to Duo about cutting his hair.

"The war is over," Heero went on. "You don't need a security blanket any more. All it does is hamper your movements and you…"

"That's it," snapped Duo, straightening. "Yuy, meet me out in the sparing area and I'll show you how this…" he waved towards his braid. "…affects my movements."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- I've written up to Chapter 19. I just post them as I get it back from by beta Stray. Thanks for the reviews. This story will be 21 to 22 chapters long.

Chapter 7

The sparing area was a cleared space where they could work their frustration out on each other while calling it all nice names such as 'assessment of personnel fitness' and other such nonsense. It was a partition made of wooden paneling with a rubber floor mat added by Trowa the time Quatre and Duo had spared.

"Fine," said Heero, once Duo had stopped walking in a circle. "Shall we start with your…demonstration?" The quirk of that eyebrow and the annoying smile was getting to Duo.

"At least take off your shoes," Quatre said, who had followed Duo.

"No need," Heero said looking at Duo's boots then dismissing them.

"They are steel tipped," there was a strained note in the blond's voice. "If we go on a mission, it will not be with the two of you bleeding all over the cockpits."

"I got it," said Duo, going to the side of the mat and sitting down. He was angry not stupid; removing boots while standing was something which called for great concentration and he was not about to start testing his limits. And falling on his ass in front of Heero was about as stupid as it could get. He watched as Heero toed his sneakers off in a simple move and grimaced. "There, all set."

"Quatre," said Heero in his trademark voice. "Why don't you go do something now?"

"I think I'll stay," there was a steely quality in his voice and he stood straight, with his arms crossed.

"Leave them," said Trowa, showing up behind him and Quatre looked around, scowling.

"I'll stay in case they hurt each other," he said, though his voice sounded less sure.

"They won't." A single green eye fixed both contestants over the shorter boy's head and even Heero gave a grudging nod afterwards.

"I'll drop by our nest the first thing after this," Duo said with a cheeky grin and though he didn't look convinced, Quatre let Trowa lead him away by the shoulder.

"Now," said Duo, dropping the mask the moment his friend had disappeared. "Where were we?"

"This is where you were going to demonstrate to me the advantages of having long hair," Heero deadpanned.

"Whatever," said Duo, seemingly unconcerned, giving his boots a push with one of his feet, then lashed out just as Heero's eyes moved to follow his foot. The fist missed by a good half inch as Heero calmly moved out of the way. Duo grinned, feral and dangerous as he moved slowly, letting Heero have a go at him.

Heero was fast; he was the most genetically modified of them and Duo suspected that even before that, he had been an exceptionally fast individual. Even more annoyingly, the sparing match seemed to be some form of amusement to him, as if he was doing it to entertain Duo for the sake of keeping him satisfied.

"Don't baby me," Duo growled angrily as Heero calmly stepped out of his way. "You fight as if you are channeling Relena.

"I seemed to have made you angry," Heero sounded more amused with the turn of events than anything else. "And I don't even know why."

"And you probably don't _want _to know why," said Duo as he went sprawling across the floor when Heero tripped him neatly. He struck out while lying on the floor, catching Heero in the leg in a move, which should have made a bigger man fall; Heero wasn't even shaken by it.

The other boy shrugged to show that the reason was irrelevant, then stepped back and waited for Duo to get to his feet. Duo surged up, intent on …something, anything, when Heero executed a perfect double spin kick, catching him on the upper shoulder and left cheek neatly. He spun, slammed to the ground and gasped, spitting out blood. Heero had timed it perfectly so that it wouldn't damage him too much but would slow him down. He turned over just as a bare foot caught him in the middle spinning him around.

"Didn't your mother tell you it's not nice to kick a man when he's down?" Duo gasped.

"Didn't your mother tell you shouldn't go provoking people who are stronger than you?" Heero asked with a smirk, almost as if he was having a normal conversation.

"She's dead so who cares?" Duo bit out as he stood up straight. While he was not super soldier material, he could take lot of beating and still keep on walking. And Heero hadn't even cracked a rib yet.

"Stop before I hurt you," Heero said reasonably.

He should have felt grateful; instead he felt like some sort of charity case. He avoided two half-hearted swats from Heero moving in a semi circle, reaching behind him to grip his braid. Taking a deep breath he started to talk. He knew that his prattle seemed to faze Heero out and he was going to use it to his advantage. He may not have the perfect strategic skills of Yuy but he was a gundam pilot, and before that, he'd survived on the streets by sheer talent with a small dose of luck.

"I'll tell you what's bothering me," he said straightening up, ignoring the tickle of blood running down the side of his cheek. "You always want something that belongs to me and you take it."

"That's not true," Heero said looking surprised. Well, as surprised as he could get.

"Let me remind you," said Duo, turning around fast, letting his braid fly free and heard it smack Heero across the face like a whip as intended. He smiled secretly when Heero grunted in surprise. No one knew about the reinforced flexible steel strips he'd braided into it, not even Quatre. "You wanted to cut my hair but no one," he followed it with a swift kick. "…touches my hair."

Heero retaliated with a flurry of fists as he realized that Duo was serious, but by then, the long-haired boy had found his rhythm. "You stole parts from my gundam and don't you forget it," he spat out as he ducked to avoid a karate chop, then tried to sweep Heero's legs from under him.

"That was so long ago," Heero said as he jumped up them tried to stamp down on Duo's out thrust leg.

"Yeah, but I never forget," Duo tried a flying kick, which was blocked by the other boy who caught his leg by the ankle then swung him around. He was sent flying towards one of the partitions, hit it with a bang, then dropped to the ground, winded but unhurt.

"You always want what is mine. Well, this time…" ignoring every gentlemanly thought from his mind, he kicked Heero squarely between the legs. "…what is mine… stays mine and you keep your grubby hands off him." He wasn't even sure if the other boy had heard his last comment since he was on the floor gasping for breath.

Duo got up shakily and walked over to Heero who had turned over on his back; his hair was slicked back with sweat and he was breathing fast but he seemed to have recovered from a kick to the groin faster than humanly possible. In fact, his eyes seemed alert and more amused than hurt.

For a moment Duo wanted to scream and curse; nothing he did seemed to dent that perfect amour and even though he had won this round, it felt bitter. "While we are here, let me give you a few pointers," he said, suddenly his mind made up.

"Pointers?" now Heero looked confused but he made no move to get up. Duo knew that Heero would not be in that position for long as he went to stand over him, his legs on either side of his hip. From his position, the pilot realized just how vulnerable he was. Heero could trip him over with a well placed kick to the ankle or, as he had done, make him wish for gundanium codpiece. The dark-haired pilot was never weak and even lying prone, he looked as dangerous as he always did.

"A little bird told me you kiss terribly," Duo said conversationally, turning his head to the side. "We can't have that, can we? You expect to kiss your love interest that way? Giving the former Queen of the World a bruised lip is sooooo Heero Yuy, but even she can't be expected to put up with that."

"Relena," said Heero in that same half dazed, half puzzled voice he always used whenever that girl entered the conversation.

"You know, the girl you love," said Duo dropped on to his heels in one fluid motion so he was almost sitting on Heero's chest. "Now don't you go biting my lip off," he added as he leaned over his and pressed his mouth on to the stubbornly closed one. After a few seconds he drew back frustrated. From the confused look in Heero's eyes it was obvious he had no idea what exactly Duo had attempted. '_What does he think I'm trying to do_?' Duo thought in frustration. '_Give him CPR_?'

He was going to show Heero what it felt to be taken without consent. As far as Duo understood, Heero was one big bully; not the type you found on the streets who were stupid, but more dangerous. Heero Yuy was strong, intelligent, good looking and had that mysterious quality about him, which attracted most people. '_But_ _not me_,' Duo thought with a scowl. "Open you mouth, dammit," he said in frustration, bringing down both his palms onto the chest of his fellow pilot.

"You took something from me," Duo said leaning forward. "So I'm taking something from you." And he closed his lips over those that were now slightly open. Heero's lips were slightly parted and he found a way to worm into the warm, wet opening, using his tongue to trace those lips.

Heero gasped slightly at the unexpected sensation and Duo wormed his way in… into something that swept him away. Heero was a solid block of gundanium under his grip, but his lips were sweet and his mouth tasted warm and inviting. Then there was a hand on his back forcing him closer and his hips ground down hard as their tongues dueled. Duo could feel the way their teeth clashed together as they tried to adjust and their breath mingled as he breathed into Heero's mouth. This was not how he had planned it. He was going to be firm and show Heero the consequences of preying on his man.

The kiss had seemed like a fair idea at the time. Heero had kissed Wufei and he kissed Heero in retaliation. Only now, as he pushed himself off Heero, trying to steady his breath, it did not seem like the best idea he'd come up with.

"So stay away from what is mine," he snarled, gripped his braid and stalked out, leaving Heero panting on the ground, those ridiculous spandex shorts tenting at the front.

His exit would have been damn impressive, had he not been sporting an equally impressive erection, which made stalking away very difficult.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1----

"Wufei," Sally managed to put a lot of expression to that one word, and Wufei turned around, forcing his face into the familiar scowl. "It's good to see you," she added as she came up to him and gave him a hug.

Wufei instinctively shrugged off the physical contact and moved away, but Sally did not seem hurt by his actions; in fact, she seemed slightly amused. "What do you want me for?" he bit out to hide his confusion. He knew he was being annoying and most people couldn't put up with his sour personality but Sally continued to treat him with respect and fondness.

"It's nice to see you too," she said with a faint smile. "Where's Nataku?"

"In the ravine to the North of here," Wufei said. "The automatic defenses are on, so make sure your people don't go trampling over it." He really didn't think anyone would try to get into Altron, these people knew when to leave gundam along and most people regarded gundams and their pilots with almost mythical awe. Still, it didn't hurt to give a warning before hand.

"I'll let them know," she said with another of her secret smiles.

"What's the problem this time?" he asked, since it was making him uncomfortable.

"There is a group of people hiding in the mountains, trying to take over our town," Sally said, sounding weary. "The usual story Wufei, and I would not have asked your help had I thought I could handle it but they have some modified Taurus mobile dolls which have those fighting chips installed."

"How did they get them?" Wufei asked, sitting up straighter.

"They are in the open market now," Sally said sounding sad. "They go to the highest bidder. I swear Relena might not have the best of ideas but trying to dissolve borders and declaring an Earth Nation was one of the stupidest things she's ever done." Wufei remained silent until Sally looked at him. "What do think of that?"

"Are you asking me for an opinion?" Wufei asked in return. "I thought it was stupid. Countries can't merge because there is no equal distribution of wealth. And how is Relena going to manage the entire world when she's out visiting the colonies more than anything else? She'll have to have people manage it, distribute part of the responsibility to different people, and soon you are back where you originally were, only it'll be worse."

"Nice description," Sally said looking surprised. "You've been giving this some thought."

"I was a scholar before I became a killer," Wufei said with a shrug.

"You always did manage to surprise me," Sally said, looking at his profile. "We've got problems here, too, so keep your eyes open," she added as the truck finally came into the town.

"Supplies?" Wufei asked as he looked at the town, the same town where he'd fought a couple of OZ soldiers a lifetime before. The people seemed to have doubled in number, and they all wore the leather armband Sally was wearing as sign of their loyalty to the cause; even those too old to fight and those too young to understand what was happening. The difference was in the number of people who openly carried firearms in the streets, men walking with a swagger and there were…

"Who are the other people?" Wufei asked as he got out and walked over to Sally who had also gotten off.

"So you've noticed them," Sally said with a grim smile. "They are refugees. We've been getting a stream of outcasts from all over the place, former OZ soldiers' families, those who have no where to go. As a policy we don't ask them about their pasts as long as they can function here as a society but still, there are some who just don't fit in."

"What's so important in the mountains that's worth fighting over?" Wufei asked as he wordlessly took a package from a man who had walked over the moment Sally's truck had stopped. Everyone knew Sally and they respected her; knew that she did not have the time to go shopping so they had the supplies ready to be picked up the moment they'd driven into town. "All I see is the weak and there is nothing here worth taking."

"You'd be surprised," Sally said, also taking a large box and throwing it to the back. "Those mountains are a miners' dream, we just don't have the money for equipment, let alone a full scale mining operation. Some of the people here do a bit of prospecting on their own but if someone who owns mobile dolls moves in, we'll all be as good as dead."

"And you want to fight someone stronger than you," Wufei stated, grunting as the next package proved to be heavier than anticipated.

"What choice do we have?" Sally said. "We have our freedom and our dignity. Isn't that enough?"

"I still don't understand you people," Wufei said in frustration. "Why fight a loosing battle? It'll only get you killed."

"But what other choice is there?" Sally asked. "It's like…"she stopped suddenly an odd gleam in her eye. "Why don't you do something for me, Wufei?" she said instead. "See that store over there, by the corner? Why don't you go and pick up two dozen apples for me. They are hard to come by, so expensive, and I don't usually indulge my men but I think they can use a little cheering up before a big battle."

"Fine," said Wufei, wondering what it had all been about. He pocketed the money she had handed to his and walked towards the shop, which was little off the main road. It was clean and had a glass window; intact glass was rarely seen in war torn areas, so he knew it was new. It also had the look of someone prosperous, almost out of place.

Most of the men knew who he was, even if they hadn't seen him before. His description had circulated among them the last time he'd hidden in the mountains and even if they didn't know him in person, he was the only Chinese in a white traditional tunic walking down the main street. He ignored the muttering of '_it's him'_ and '_he's just a kid' _glaring at anyone who came too close to him. As he approached the shop, several men who had been loitering about dispersed, leaving a boy with dark brown hair leaning against the wall, watching him intently. The boy was about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a pair of cut off denims and a torn t-shirt. His interest in Wufei was open and frank; the Chinese youth could feel those eyes on him as he pushed open the door of the shop and walked in, letting it slam shut behind him.

The apples were slightly withered and looked about as fresh as month old fish. Trying hard not to show his displeasure, Wufei took moldy looking fruits and stepped out into the heat and into the boy…

"I'm sorry," the boy said in a neutral voice, stepping back his eyes fixed on Wufei.

Wufei adopted one of Heero's conversation techniques, grunted and started to circle around the boy when he moved to intercept Wufei. Wufei stepped back, keeping his arms loose, ready to drop the apples but not willing to do so until it became obvious that he needed to do anything drastic.

"You're new here," the boy stated licking his lips. Wufei wondered if he was thirsty.

"Move out of the way, kid," Wufei said in his most arrogant voice.

"You've got money," the boy continued, pointing to the apples which were starting become a bit of a bother.

"You're going to rob me," Wufei said in disbelief.

"No," the boy looked equally shocked at the prospect. "That would be stupid. People here would band together and hang me. What I want to do is offer you something in return for money. I know you came with that Sally Po…it must be lonely at night unless you're bedding her. For the right price…"

He was so shocked, he didn't even bother to hit the kid, he simply pushed him off and broke into a run towards the truck, where Sally was already sitting in the drivers' seat.

"You knew," Wufei accused as soon as he'd buckled up. "You knew he'd be there."

"It's a part of life Wufei," Sally said sadly. "He's a son of some OZ general so no one wants him to work for them and he's got no where to go. I can't have him with us, he's too young and I've promised myself I will not have a thirteen year old carrying a machine gun if I can help it. Shaun… his name is Shaun… is an outsider here and this is the only way he can make a living. That's what'll happen to us if we don't fight for ourselves here. Even if we don't become slaves, we'll have to sacrifice a part of us. I help out sometimes," Sally said as Wufei looked at her with real interest. "I've told my men to stay away from him and I send him some food and money from time to time but…"

Wufei looked out, watching the shadows move past in the darkness. "I'll move Altron closer tonight when there's no one around," he said. "I want to see all your maps and the escape routes. This time, we'll do it my way."

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

The internal clock read ten thirty when Wufei jumped out of his cockpit, using the gundam's contours to shimmy down. He landed lightly on his feet and stood waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and for the person who was standing outside to make his or her presence known.

"Why don't you come and sit with us?" she said pointing towards the semi circle of people sitting by the camp fire. "Even if you don't want to eat, it'll be good for the moral of the people."

"I'd rather not," Wufei said with a huff. The camp food was terrible and he was starting feel grateful for Quatre for suggesting he pack some food. "All they need to do is look at Nataku if they need a reminder that I'm here." After all, if was hard to miss the fifty foot gundam against the cliff wall, even with a camouflage net over it.

"But they'd like you to come," Sally persisted. "Plus, having you there would keep the tempers in check. It might not have been the wisest move, but I invited Shaun over and some of the people are not pleased with it."

"You invited HIM here?" Wufei said, his voice laced with disgust. As a warrior he was taught to respect his body and to think anyone could stoop so low as to sell it was beyond his comprehension. "That is disgusting. You don't expect me sit with some male whore and eat."

"What bothers you the most Wufei?" Sally asked reasonably. "That he's male and came on to you or …"

"Him being male doesn't bother me," Wufei said looking at Sally in surprise. "In my colony the males were all put together and trained separately from the time they were children to the time they were married and some warriors trained until they died. Even those who were happily married had close male friends they valued through out their lives. I don't know if it would be correct to say they were lovers, but when you are a warrior you can learn to love and respect the person who guards your back in battle as much as the person who keeps the home fires burning and bear your children."

"Once again," said Sally with a hint of that smile. "I'm stunned; I didn't expect you to say the word love in a sentence ever."

"What bothers me is that he has no personal honor, there must be other options rather than working on your back," he said, flushing at what Sally had said earlier.

"Come eat with us, Wufei," Sally prodded. "Please. The food is getting cold."

"Fine," said Wufei grudgingly. "Just don't expect me to talk or sing songs or anything."

By shear chance or extremely close manipulation, he wound up sitting next to Shaun who was looking at the bowl of food as if he expected it to rise up and bite him. Wufei look one sip of the tepid soap flavored soup and gave up the idea of eating anything Sally had cooked. Hell, even he could make something more edible than this.

"Are you going to eat that?" Shaun asked in a small voice and when and when Wufei looked across, he was regarding the untouched bowl hungrily.

"Here," said Wufei handing it over suddenly reminded of Duo who was always scampering for food. Even after Quatre had lectured him on it, he continued to eat as if there was no tomorrow. The hair was lighter and the bangs were short but for a moment Wufei's eyes caught that of the boy's and he was reminded of the L2 pilot.

"Do… I have something on me?" the boy asked, reaching for a strand of hair and then leaned back suggestively. He licked his lips in a move Wufei was not starting to become familiar with and the hand that was not holding the bowl stated to play with the top neck line of the t-shirt pulling it down.

"Leave him alone," someone snarled and Wufei looked up to see an older man bear down on Shaun angrily, fist raised up. Even as the boy ducked Wufei got to his feet lightly, catching the fist before it made contact with the boy.

"Leave him," he said.

"He insulted you," the man said angrily. "How could he imagine that a gundam pilot like you is a pervert is …"

Apparently this was the first time the boy had heard of Wufei's status since he stared at him in surprise.

"He doesn't know who I am," said Wufei using all his regal training. "Leave it at that…"

"Unless you do want to fuck him…" the man did not finish his sentence before he went flying over the fire to land in a pile on the ground. Even Sally looked impressed by the move.

"I'll be with Nataku," said Wufei, not bothering to sit down again. "Call me when you are ready to go."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The blast caught his gundam from behind, making him snap in his harness, and Wufei bit back a curse as he extended a dragon claw towards the doll. The doll danced away, far too fast, and he had to dodge again as the next flurry of bullets, swerving out of the way using one of his vernier engines, which was better designed for space battles.

"Wufei," Sally's voice was a hard-edged annoyance in his ear. "Are you all right?"

"Of course, I am," he replied, knowing from long experience what would happen should he not answer promptly. "Move back woman."

"I don't think Howard's around to patch up your gundam, so take care," she said as he switched off the communication.

It was only seventeen dolls, Taurus in design, equipped with Mercurius crash shields and programmed with fighting data; he should have been able to take care of the annoying midgets if they hadn't been programmed to use the others as shields. Whoever had supplied the battle data had been an incompetent idiot with a cowardly streak a battleship wide. An air battle he could have handled but the annoying machines refused to rise above the tree tops and he could not leave the trees since he would be leaving the others in danger. Though he didn't think highly of any of the other men, he could never leave Sally in danger; the only other woman he cared about was dead because of him and he didn't need any more ghosts haunting him. (And he really didn't think he could bear calling his gundam Nataku Sally Po Altron.)

"Sally," he growled as a missile launched by one of the guerrillas exploded harmlessly next to him. Even if it had hit the doll, the shields would have taken most of the blow. "I'm going to try and draw these dolls to me. On my word, fire on me."

"But that'll…" someone said over the open communication channel.

"Understood," said Sally without a pause. She had been on the Peacemillion and had seen the gundams take on thousands of mobile dolls of all kinds; she knew their abilities.

He deliberately slowed down his reaction, letting more than one of the blasts hit the center of Altron, wincing as the outer armor protested, refusing to bring up his Shenlong shield since that would alert the dolls of his bluff. He wasn't wearing his helmet or the protective suit since the battle was not in outer space and being constantly thrown against the harnesses was starting to tell on his body. He let two of the blasts catch him, staggering a little, letting the program think he was weakened. The dolls started to converge on him, stopping their random movements, to concentrate their firepower on the bigger enemy.

He switched on communication and shouted, "Now."

The barrage of missiles, machine gun and normal gun fire did not harm the dolls but the sudden bombardment of shots disrupted their flow of information for a vital split second, and in that instant he deployed both Dragon Claws. They sliced through the shields as if they were tissues, ripping the dolls apart. Even as the dolls faltered, Wufei concentrated the fire of his twin Vulcan cannons on to the shields generators, tearing the small red disks apart and leaving the dolls vulnerable to outside attack. Suddenly the tides of the battle had turned and they were winning.

He reached for the throwing disk on the left shoulder, deploying it towards a faltering doll, while in the same move pulled out the twin beam trident off the back pack. Both his and Altron's speciality was close combat; he was in his element, roaring to battle, taking out everything with ease. And as the blasts of the explosions died down, all that was left were few blackened tree stumps and a group of ragged survivors, cheering.

Wufei scanned the surroundings visually until he saw Sally standing to the side, an arm of an injured man draped over her shoulder, then leaned back, relaxing a little. He didn't think there were any other surprises; the proximity detectors would inform him if there were so he powered down .

"Wufei." Sally's voice came over the com.

"Treat your injured," he snapped back. "I'll just do a few adjustments here first." He had to retrieve his throwing disk and get his gundam battle ready. Just like a good rider took care of his horse after a long ride, a good pilot also looked after his gundam before relaxing.

He unsnapped the harness, wincing as a shoulder protested. He leaned forward to run the internal diagnostics, though he could tell exactly how battle-ready Altron was by simply running over the battle specs… He froze…there was something…wrong with the scanner…

What had Heero told him as he was about to leave…? Always scan…

But his scanners were on…and still searching for mobile dolls. He keyed in the commands and scanned the ground for heat and explosives…then something started to blink. Wufei almost switched on the view screen, then stopped. It was not the proximity alert, it was for explosives. The gundam was not vulnerable to explosives unless Heero was the one doing the blowing up, and the signature was not coming from the vicinity of Altron…but from the medical tent.

"Sally!" he gasped even though he knew the communication was switched off as he popped the hatch and jumped out, sword in hand, tripping in his hurry. He landed on one knee, got up and started to run towards the tent a good three hundred yards separating them. He couldn't move Altron and anyway, it was something a person could do. He pushed aside people who were milling around, still drunk on victory, kicking them down heedlessly as he tried to reach his …friend in time.

The medical tent was a kaki colored structure, which parted under the katana like water. "You stupid woman," he said as he burst in. "Get out. This thing is going to blow up."

She did not question him, instantly signaled the men to help the others out. Wufei looked around but he was not the demolition expert of the group and he did not think he had the time. Instead, he shouldered a limping man, too slow to move out in time and hauled him up. Wufei was all wiry muscles and bones; he was stronger than he looked.

He was not the heart of outer space or whatever Quatre was, but had been a warrior long enough to know when a bomb was about to go. Sally was the last to leave, bogged down by the extra weight of her patient and her medical supplies. Wufei knew one way or another she was going to be caught in the blast. He thrust his dead weight of a patient aside, ran and jumped on her, shielding her the best he could, as everything went 'boom'.

It was not a very powerful bomb and the tent was made of cloth so there was a minimum of shrapnel but the trembling seemed to go on and on. Something hit him in the back o the head, ploughing down his back like a hot porker before dropping off. Wufei must have blacked out for a second or two, for when he came to, he was still lying on Sally who was shouting his name in a panicked voice.

"Shut up, you stupid woman," he grated, getting to his feet. Something warm and wet ran down his back but he was mobile and alive. He could barely hear, his ear drums felt perforated and his left leg refused to take his weight, but he was all right. There would be pain, but at that moment his body was in shock and he could hardly feel a thing other than the flow of blood down his back.

"Wufei," said Sally in a shocked voice as she scrambled to her feet, but he was already moving, having spotted his sword, which he had dropped in the blast not three feet away from him. Bending down to retrieve it made him dizzy but he was up again, dragging his leg, moving purposefully toward the center of the camp.

"Where're you going?' Sally asked, walking behind him, her voice echoing in his ears as if he was underwater.

"Where is he?" Wufei asked as he looked around. "Your male whore?"

"Shaun," said Sally sounding puzzled. "Why..?"

"He's the only outsider here apart from me," he said. "He didn't know you were going have gundam backup today, did he?" he asked.

"But..."

"He's just a kid," Wufei said with a harsh laugh, even as he spotted the boy, now dressed in a pair of kaki trousers, trying to sneak out. Wufei was fast; even with one leg injured, and he caught the other boy as he turned to run, holding Shaun immobile at sword point. He could barely hear himself and his sight was failing. "He knew you are the backbone here and taking you out would weaken everything. He knew you'd be in the medical tent after the battle today and …" The world seemed to tilt a little so he stopped.

Slowly, Wufei turned around to face Sally, face streaked with blood, pinched with worry, as his own blood started flowing into his right eye, obscuring his vision and burning his eye. "He's good," he said with a faint smile, letting the sword slide under Shaun's chin. "How long was he in town Sally, to gain your pity?"

"Kill the boy," someone growled as he tried to shoulder past Wufei but be still had enough strength in him to push away the man.

"Someone sent him," Wufei said. "Killing him won't get you anything and neither will torturing him. After all, you don't waste a good weapon." He thrust the boy towards Sally and Shaun stumbled to the feet of the woman, eyes full of fear and hate in equal measure. The boy opened his mouth to speak but he silenced him with a wave of his hand. "I don't want to know why," said Wufei. "Your reasons don't interest me. I'm not going to judge you, you stupid boy. I'm not Nataku." He was wavering when he turned to face Sally again. "Sally, war is not a place for bleeding hearts, woman. Don't pity every stray dog you come across 'cause they all bite."

"You're losing a lot of blood," Sally said in a small voice. "Wufei…"

"I'm done here," he said, letting his hand drop, the sword too heavy for him to hold up. "You deal with this mess on your own, woman." And he turned around and crumpled to the ground, gracefully.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

"…at least another day, Wufei," said Sally, almost hanging on to his arm as he walked towards the carrier. "You're in no condition to drive."

"I'm not going to lie on some camp bed and count the rivets in the ceiling," Wufei snarled back as he reached for the door of the driver side. He hesitated for a moment when he realized that that there was no way he was going to pull himself up into the seat with one bad leg, a back that had been perforated by flying debris and a headache, which was threatening to blast his brains out of his ears.

The painkiller he had been pumped was keeping everything at bay but the moment he strained himself it was going to come rearing back, making him want to curl into a ball and hide in a dark place. He was not going to be able to survive a long drive, even the walk from the cabin to the carrier had had him left him panting in pain. He leaned against the open door to summon his resources for the pain that was going to come the moment he started move and…there was a hand on his elbow. He turned around, opening his mouth to tell Sally exactly what he thought of her and found himself staring in to a single green eye.

"Trowa," he said in surprise.

"You look like hell," the acrobat said in his calm voice as he smiled faintly over Wufei's shoulder. "Sally. Sorry, I'm late."

"You called him," Wufei found out he was so tired he couldn't find the energy to be angry.

"I knew you were going to do something stupid like this," she said. "So I called on your frequency and Trowa answered."

"I don't need a nurse," Wufei hissed, more on principle than anything else.

"We switched bases, two days back," Trowa said as he helped Wufei up. "I'll drive you there. Much safer than letting you know on an open frequency."

Even if he had been able to answer, Wufei would not have been able to squeeze a word out, as pain speared him in the back, drawing a flaming sword over his skin and making him gasp. He looked up to see if either of the two had noted his predicament but they were busy in conversation, Sally speaking in her intent manner, which meant she was either telling Trowa an interesting story or giving him an edited version of Wufei's condition.

"Move over," said Trowa, holding on to the open door.

Wufei opened his mouth and realized that arguing over who was going to drive was not going to get him anywhere. He could barely hold his head up, let alone see clearly enough to drive down the road. And the carrier, with the gundam in the back was far too heavy for him to control with one bad leg. Grudgingly, he shifted sideways until there was enough space for Trowa to climb in.

"Now remember Wufei," said Sally as she leaned in urgently. "You have a probable hairline fracture your on scull and still some concussion and… don't try to pilot Nataku for at least a month."

"A month," Wufei spluttered, wishing he hadn't shouted.

"Three weeks," Sally amended. "But really, I'll feel better if you didn't…"

"I'll see that he doesn't," Trowa said and Sally started at the single green eye, and then nodded.

"Fine," she said and closing the door. "I've given your medication to Trowa and he'll make sure you take it. Now remember, nothing intense or…."

"I hear you woman," Wufei said wearily. "Now go back. Don't you have some whore to take care of?"

Sally ignored his last jab. "Call me if there are any complications," she told Trowa. "Anytime, anywhere. I know you can't take him to a hospital."

"I will," said Trowa firmly, not one for small talk, and then they were leaving, the lurch of the vehicle making Wufei wince and nauseated in a second.

He tried to lean back and winced as his back protested. "How far is the safe house?" he asked.

"We'll be there by tomorrow afternoon if I keep on driving Trowa said and Wufei nearly burst out in tears. It was going to be a long drive, one he was not sure he had the strength to survive. He considered scooting over to the other side of the carrier, which was a fair distance away, then changed his mind when it became apparent he'd have to move and his body did not think it was a good idea. The pain was so bad, he could almost pretend it wasn't his but someone else's and putting himself into a meditative trance seemed to be the only way out of it.

However, each time he closed his eyes, either the vehicle, his stomach or both lurched, and he was distracted before he could center his mind. Finally he tried to talk, something he'd never have done in any other circumstance, to distract himself.

"Why did we switch the safe house?" it was a reasonable question. "We have another two weeks left in it. Were we compromised?"

"Three days back," Trowa said to the point. "Quatre just got it into his head and in an hour's time we were packed and moving."

"No one said anything," Wufei said in surprise.

"We have to trust each other sometimes," Trowa said. "And his intuitions are usually right. Even Heero doesn't question them."

"Well, I hope his sixth sense pays off because everyone would be pissed if they found out they've moved for nothing," Wufei said, wincing as they went over a pothole.

"They won't be," said Trowa in a voice, which said he'd eviscerate anyone who so much as looked askew at the blond in question

Wufei looked at Trowa with his mouth slightly open. "You are obsessed with him." He said in surprise. "Maxwell is correct, you are an idiot. Why don't you just quit shagging Yuy and move on. I know the little twit likes you too. You couldn't have missed all those doe eyed looks he was throwing your way."

Trowa gave Wufei a look, which said clearly he was threading where he shouldn't, but the Chinese boy remained unimpressed by the glare. "I don't think it's any of your business," Trowa said, pointedly looked away.

"I'm under medication," Wufei said unfalteringly. "Humor me, Barton."

Trowa gave him a look of pure disbelief. "You have the personality of a rat trap you know?" he said.

"Really," Wufei unrepented. "There I was thinking of being the next Prince Charming."

Trowa's lips twitched a little. "Maxwell certainly agrees with you from the way he's been throwing doe eyes at you," he said.

"What!" said Wufei, turning around far too quickly. He lurched sideways and knocked against Trowa who did not even budge. He grunted and tried to straighten himself; he was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Stay that way," said the other boy. "It'll take the pressure off your backand I don't mind."

Wufei grunted, unwilling to admit that he was grateful for the support. "Not going to squeeze out of my question Barton," he ground out instead. "Why in the world do you say no to Winner when he's head over heals for you?"

"It's none of your concern," Trowa said firmly.

"Because you think he's a flaky blond?" Wufei pressed with all the skills of a charging T-Rex.

"Because I'm not good enough for him," Trowa snapped out.

"Because you are a simple circus acrobat and he's the owner of …well just about the largest consortium in space?" Wufei asked, trying to ignore the pain and the bile that was threatening to climb to his mouth.

"If it was just that, then I'd have thought I had a chance," Trowa said, sounding sad. "Wufei, you have no idea how I envy you. Heck, I think most of us envy you because you have a reason to fight for, even Heero. Most people fight because they are told to or because they don't know any different. With you, you fight for a cause, for justice, and in a way it redeems you of everything."

Wufei snorted, concentrating on keeping his mouth shut. However, once started it seemed as if Trowa could not keep his mouth shut

"I've always been a mercenary," he said. "Going to the highest bidder, not caring about those I called my friends. As far as I knew anyone who stood in my way was my enemy and …and…"

"You don't think that now," Wufei said, speaking because he had to. "You are fucking with Yuy."

"But it's better that way," Trowa suddenly shouted. "Don't you see? Then it doesn't matter if someone you care about gets killed or kills you. They always die or leave you. This way, you don't form attachments, have regrets…simply move on. Heero knows that. He'll shoot me in a heartbeat if it means him surviving, and I can do the same where he is concerned. With Quatre, I'd just distract him and taint him with the things I've done."

"Shouldn't he be the…" Wufei clamped his mouth shut as the last pill he'd swallowed decided to rise up.

"If he becomes involved with me, he'll also lose his edge," Trowa said. "There might be a time when it's either me or him and I don't want him to hesitate if it ever comes to that."

Wufei wanted to know a lot of things about it but managed to strangle out a few words. "With Zero…"

"He was influenced by Zero when he shot me," Trowa said. "That doesn't count. He tore himself to shreds over then, and I don't want it to happen again. When this is all over, we'll go our separate ways and forget about it. It's better this way."

It was a long, long speech by someone who only bothered to speak when necessary, and that alone showed just how much it all weighed on his mind. Wufei was impressed. "Pull over," he grated. "I think I'm going to be sick."

He could never have managed the ladder down without help and almost collapsed to a heap when he was let go. He fell to his knees as everything in his stomach, which amounted to a half a glass of water and a few half dissolved pills, came hurtling up. When it was all over he was a sweaty pile of trembling limbs, barely able to hold his head up. Strong hands helped him stand and suddenly he was grateful that Sally had shaved the back of his head to expose his head wound. He always managed to look like a wet rat when his hair was sweaty.

Trowa was a lot stronger than his slender form implied. He picked up Wufei and helped his climb back in. Wufei clutched the seat back as his vision swam with little black spots. His back was on fire, that impromptus bending over not having done him any good.

"You are bleeding again," said Trowa suddenly. "We are not too far away, do you want me to turn back and take you to Sally?"

"No," said Wufei marshalling the last of his resources. "Now, why don't …you tell me why you…think Maxwell is mooning over me." He added leaning against Trowa's shoulder.

a/n- I just hate Trowa not getting any screen time in fanfics as anything other than Quarter's love toy. In this fic, Trowa gets his own screen time:)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- thank you for the reviews people.

Chapter 9

The carrier came to a halt in the underground bunker. Trowa waited after he'd shut down the engine; the vehicle made small popping noises as it cooled. His back and arms were sore from non stop driving and his bladder was protesting. He sighed in relief as the flood lights blinded him and Heero, ever the solider, covered him with a hand gun.

"What are you doing in Wufei's carrier?" Heero asked as he kept the gun aside. "Why did you leave without informing anyone?"

"I left a note," Trowa said as he pushed open the driver side door but made no attempt to get out. Heero walked around to the open door and stopped short when he saw what was preventing the taller boy from dismounting. Stretched out across the front seats lay Wufei, the back of his loose shirt soaked with blood, his head resting on Trowa's lap, either fast asleep or passed out from exhaustion.

Heero's face remained impassive but he reached forward and felt for Wufei's pulse, frowning at what he'd found. Wordlessly, he shifted Wufei as if he was a rag doll, and Trowa helped lower the limp form to the ground.

"Can you carry him?" Trowa asked.

"Yes," Heero said hoisting up the other boy as if he was weightless. "Your legs must be stiff if you've been sitting like that all the way."

"I can barely feel them," Trowa answered honestly as he stretched a little to get the circulation back. "Take him inside. I'll join you," he added, not wanting Heero to see him fall on his face the moment he tried to get off. He sat, watching Heero carry the Chinese pilot towards the garage exit, the tension of the long drive fading away into numerous aches and pains. Using most of his upper body he started to get off the vehicle, holding on to the open door for support. His arms were starting to tingle as he let go and just as his feet hit the ground he became aware of being startled. For a moment he stopped, letting go of his hold, collapsing to his knees as the shock hit him.

As his heartbeat returned to normal, he realized that he was feeling Quatre's shock and not his own and ground his teeth in frustration. He had thought it a freak occurrence the first time he'd felt it; his memory gone, his mind in shreds, feeling / hearing the silent crying of a boy he was strangely drawn to. It had been what had forced him to leave his sister and rush off to space. Now the feelings were intensified. He could tell when Quatre was sad or happy, without even looking in that direction and, as far as he was concerned, it was another annoyance.

It did not stop him from hurrying in the direction of the exit and almost colliding with Heero, who had run into Quatre. It had been the sight of their justice-raving member lying silent that had shocked the blond.

"We have to get him to a hospital," Quatre was saying when he walked in.

"No," said Heero.

"No," said Trowa at the same time.

"I don't care if we're compromised," Quatre said, his voice rising higher. "Just how badly hurt is he?"

"He's alive," Heero said calmly.

"For how long?" Quatre's voice had risen another notch. Trowa had to admit that it looked worse than it really was. Wufei was one of those people who never stayed still and his stillness was almost chilling.

"Sally treated him before she let him go," Trowa said as he looked at the Chinese pilot lying as if dead in Heero's arms. "I think the road trip tired him out. She wouldn't have let him go if she'd thought his condition was critical." He could see Quatre relaxing under his soothing tone and Heero nodded at him silently. While he did not have the same intensity as Heero, when Quatre insisted, he usually got his way. It was probably the makings of a good leader, but it was not the time for Quatre and Heero to have a battle of wills.

"What's all the shouting ab…out?" Duo asked as his came to join as Trowa thought rather sarcastically, '_now we have a complete set._' He stopped at the sight of Wufei and gasped. "He's dead, isn't he?" he asked in a strangled voice. "I was mean to him before he left and didn't even get to tell him about…"

"You are overreacting as usual," Heero said as he stood still. "Run an I.V. and check to see if his blood type is on record."

"I'm on it," said Quatre turning around. "Bring him to the rec room. We have more room there. Duo see if you can reach Sally on a secure frequency. I want to speak with her, now."

Once they'd fallen into their roles it took a few seconds for them to organize themselves. However, as Heero checked the I.V. and arranged Wufei's limbs to a comfortable positions (on his stomach) Duo unwittingly exclaimed. "Is it just me or does he seem awfully small? I mean…like as long as he was speaking he took up so much room and now…"

"Shut up," Trowa said without infliction, pointing to the eyelids that were moving slightly, indicating he was about to come to. Duo blanched and shut up.

"Where did all the blood come from?" Quatre asked as he used warm water to ease the shirt that had stuck to Wufei's back.

"Some of his stitches might have pulled," Trowa said.

"Oh, man," said Duo in a voice, which announced another apocalypse. "They've cut his hair."

Everyone stared at Duo as if he was out of his mind. Not everyone thought of their hair with reverence

"Shit," he said. "I didn't mean it like that…You know, if Wufei heard that he'd kill me…"

"I still might," came the horse voice and suddenly they stilled.

"You're alive!" Quatre blurted out. "I mean… awake."

"You got it right the first time, Winner," Wufei coughed as he tried to sit up and was forced down by Heero. "I'm starting to regret it already."

"Stay down," said Trowa as he checked the I.V. again to make sure there was no blood in it. "Get some sleep while one of us gets you something to eat."

"You mean, you haven't had enough of me decorating your shoes?" Wufei said with an odd laugh, which ended in a gasp of pain.

"Not everyone's had a chance to be blessed by you," Trowa deadpanned as he straightened and strode out. Wufei was awake and his usually sarcastic, endearing self, which meant he was going to live.

"What happened?" asked Heero as Wufei tried to turn over and hissed in pain. "Is Altron damaged?"

"This I managed to do this on my own," Wufei said self-deprecatingly. "Sally had some whore with her who she thought she was rescuing until the worthless piece of excrement tried to blow her up."

"Oh," said Quatre. "What happened to her?"

"Sally?" said Wufei. "She got off with nothing more than a scratch."

"No, I mean," Quatre said, with a faint blush. "The pro…prostitute. Did they kill her or…"

"It was a male," Wufei spat out, disgust evident. "Sally should have known better than to trust that despicable creature. A slut who sells his body for money has no honor. To degrade yourself to the point of bending over for…"

"Not everyone's like that," Duo jumped in before Wufei could get into one of his full-blown rants. Trowa as surprised that Wufei had the energy to channel so much spite into his words when he looked like he was broken into bits then squashed by a gundam all over again.

"Duo…" said Quatre in an oddly quiet voice making Trowa wonder what was bothering him.

"People do things they won't normally do when they don't have any other options," Duo continued. "Sometimes when you're hungry enough, you can talk …talk yourself into doing the most despicable things for a cup of tea and a hotdog. And if money isn't enough…" he stopped when he realized everyone, including Wufei who had propped himself up on an elbow was staring at him. "Soup," said Duo in a falsely bright voice edging towards the exit. "I can do a great soup. No one move until I get back."

"I'd better get washed up," Trowa said as he also walked to the door. He did not need to look at Quatre's tear filled eyes to what exactly Duo had been talking about. He just hoped Wufei would not be as judgmental as he usually was.

"Trowa," the command stopped him before he reached the door to his room. He stopped, his hand on the door knob, as Quatre walked behind him.

"Next time you leave, please let us know where you're going," he said. "At least your location so we can contact you."

"All right," he said, not turning around, not wanting to see the hurt into those expressive eyes.

"You'd better shower," Quatre said, his voice cold. "You smell as if someone used you as a barf bag."

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

They all took turns staying awake with Wufei, starting with Trowa, who took first watch, renewing the stitches and monitoring his vitals. Despite his brief awakening, Wufei slept through the rest of the night and half the morning, under the influence of the sedatives Trowa had slipped into his soup, which Wufei had drunk in spite of his protests. ("_Soup, Barton, what am I, an old woman? I have all my teeth, thank you very much._")

"Still asleep," said Quatre, who walked into the room with his laptop.

"I think it's for the best," Duo said. He looked up from the boots he was polishing. "You know how hard it is to keep him still when he's up."

"Good," said Quatre as he sat down next to Duo, balancing the lap top on one knee. He opened the screen and called up a couple of figures.

"Whoa, man," said Duo as he peered into the screen shamelessly. He knew that had it been a secret, then the blond would not have sat next to him "I know this is crazy but who are those chicks?"

"Which one do you think is prettiest?" asked Quatre enlarging three of them.

"Don't tell me you've switched sides?" Duo said as he stared.

"Market research," Quatre said evasively. "So, which one would you pick? Come on, I know you can at least look."

"Um," said Duo, taking the task seriously. "The middle blond looks like she can bend steel with her bare hands… kinda scary with that nose of hers. I don't know, she's kinda uptight man. You won't want to meet her in a lonely night in a deserted alley."

"Second one?" said Quatre. He looked amused.

"Nice in a bland sorta way, you know. Wouldn't get a second look on the road but maybe, with a little make up and less of those baggy pants and…"

"Now to the last…" Quatre said, laughing openly.

"She's nice," Duo said with a frown.

"That's it," said Quatre.

"She looks kind, I guess," he said still frowning. "And strangely familiar. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere."

"You might have," Quatre confessed. "That's Iria, my favorite sister."

Duo spluttered, letting his boot fall with a muted thud. "Please, tell me the other two aren't your sisters as well."

"They are," Quatre said with a smile. "Jane and Charlotte."

"Jane," Duo said before he could help himself. "Isn't that a little tame for a person who looks like Lady Une out of her uniform but with her psychotic personality?" Then he crammed a fist into his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

"What do you expect?" said Quatre as he tried to pry the fist out of his friend's mouth with his free hand. "Dad had 29 daughters. He couldn't afford to get imaginative with names."

"Come on, man," protested Duo. "What did you do that to me for? You put me in a spot where I came out looking like an idiot."

"Because you are one," Quatre teased. "Well, what do you think? I'm trying to marry one of them off to Rashid."

"RASHID!" said Duo. "The guy with the 'Master Quatre' complex and the…the...beard and those pants you can hide a camel in and…ok, shutting up so I can pull my other leg out of my mouth." He tried to keep quiet for a moment but failed. "But why?"

"Because I need a man to run the family business when I'm not around," Quatre said patiently. "We might live in a colony but we are so tradition-bound that most of the people would not take orders from a woman. Why else do you think my father left everything to me when he has all those older children? I mean, Cassandra and Laura were helping him with business before I was even born. If I get Rashid to marry one of my sisters, he becomes my bother in law and that gives him the right to give orders. And since my sisters are familiar with running the business they can give him advice."

"And you trust him?" Duo said finally.

"With my life," Quarter said solemnly. "And he would make a good leader and good husband. I know for sure."

"So you're going to toss one your sisters at him, just like that," Duo said. "That sounds so cold."

"I'm certainly not going to force them," Quatre said with a shrug. "Those three have always been the most interested in Earth and the Maganacs, and I thought I'd let them come, and introduce them to Rashid. See if there is a spark as you would say."

"All three of them?" Duo said.

"I was hoping for Iria," Quatre said reluctantly. "She's a little younger than Rashid but she is rather nice, without Jane's…" he looked at Duo under his lashes "…Lady Une personality…" and smiled when Duo blushed. "…and she has been advising father for a long time, since mother died, I think and she can do it. She's not really into giving orders, but is the heart of everything. I think my father knew it since he had her placed in a remote mining outpost during the war."

"I can see your reasoning but it sounds so cold," Duo argued, looking at Quatre as if seeing him for the first time.

"Duo," said Quatre patiently. "I run a multimillion dollar company; I have to think like that at times. And it's not like I'm forcing anyone to marry. Even I'm not that old-fashioned."

"Oh."

"Well," said Quatre awkwardly. "I've gone and really done it haven't I? You look shocked."

"You didn't do anything," Duo replied. "I just don't understand the way you rich people tick, that's all. It's a side of you I haven't seen before. It's like…" he gave an odd bark of a laugh. "It's like coming across an angel and finding out its wings are black."

The moment he said it, he knew he had made a mistake. Quatre looked as if Duo had kicked him in the middle and run him through with one of Wufei's swords. Startled, Quatre stood up, letting the lap top fall to the floor with a crack. The screen flickered and a small crack ran through the middle but the blond was unaware of it. "Oh, Duo," he said in a hurt voice, looking for the word as if Duo had landed Deathscythe on his pet kitten. "I'm not innocent enough to be an angel and … you made me sound so…tainted. I'm not …not…"

"Bad analogy," Duo said standing up as well. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to…"

"Never mind," said Quatre still looking hurt.

"Uh, so, when are we expecting your sisters?" Duo asked trying to force the conversation.

"It was supposed to be this week but I called and canceled," Quatre said, still looking hurt. "I didn't want to leave with Wufei hurt."

"We can look after him," Duo said, looking around as if wishing he should be elsewhere.

"I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to him while I'm away," confessed Quatre. "And I was hoping you'd come with me. I know you won't leave Wufei in this condition but I didn't want to go alone. Jane intimidates me and treats me like and kid and …you seemed to be having a nice time when you were there in the desert with all those girls giving you flowers and stuff."

Duo did not answer. Instead he stepped forward and hugged the blond hard and after a split second Quatre hugged him back, squeezing him for all he was worth. "No more surprises, ok?" Duo murmured.

"I promise," Quatre answered. "I'll leave you now. I think Wufei's about to wake up."

"But…"

"I think you have a lot to talk about," Quatre said, picking up his broken lap top. He walked out, leaving Duo with a dry mouth and a pounding heart.

A/N- No, Quatre isn't a blushing angel. He kills, for shouting out loud.


	10. Chapter 10

Warning: mentions of rape but no actual rape scene.

Chapter 10

"Don't…" said Duo as his friend disappeared leaving him alone with Wufei who was regarding him calmly through half open eyes, head turned to a side, resting on his stomach. He tried to collect himself before putting on a 100 watt smile. "Hey, how are you feeling today? Man, you won't believe the way your back looks. I mean, Heero looks better, even with those scars from trying to self-distrust. You look as if someone scraped the skin off your back with a blunt knife but Trowa says it could have been worse. No muscle damage or anything and it'll heal over. Hurts like bitch but isn't bad at all." He walked to the side stand and picked up a glass of water. "You must be thirsty. Those painkillers do the same for me." He helped Wufei turn around, fluffing up a pillow and making him sit up. "You should still have a headache but Sally says it'll die down in a couple of weeks. I'll just tell everyone that you're awake."

Wufei did a body inventory. Headache, backache…nice pillow, which didn't scratch his back so it must be Winner's, and someone had dressed him in a pair of sweats. Yes, he was not wearing any underwear but he'd deal with that later.

"Winner must have done that already," Wufei said in a low voice, sounding scratchy. He reached for the glass of water and winced as his back pulled. "So… when were you checking out Yuy?"

"What!" Duo, who had been in the process of reaching for the glass for Wufei, exclaimed.

"You said I have more scars than him just now," Wufei pointed out with a brief smirk. "How would you have known unless you were checking him out?"

"Here's your water," said Duo as he handed over the glass to the other pilot, blushing furiously. "We were in spray in the Peacemillion's crew quarters, all right?" he said, moving away jerkily. "I mean, it was where everyone covered in grease cleans and …and…drink your water and I'll get you something to eat. You'd better have something in you when you take your pills."

"You have made a valid argument," Wufei said dryly as he sipped some more of the water.

"Yeah, well," said Duo, edging towards the door. "I'll get you some food."

"Is there a washroom close by?" Wufei asked, swinging his legs off the bed. He grimaced and grabbed the edges of the bed as the world titled and he had to stay in that exact position until the world stopped shaking. "I…need to clean up."

"Oh, no you don't," said Duo walking back towards the bed. "The washroom's round the corner but you stay here until I come back. Falling flat on your face is not going to help."

"How long was I in bed?" Wufei asked as he tried to steady his heartbeat enough to stand up.

"A day and a half," Duo answered, placing a hand on Wufei's chest and pushing him down gently.

"That long!" Wufei exclaimed in shock. "In bed."

"Must be the white pajamas you run around in," Duo quipped. "Makes everyone think you're beddable." The moment he had said it, he blushed crimson and stepped back. "Stay here…" and stopped when another person came storming into the room. "Trowa," said Duo, ignoring his thunderous expression. "Think you can stay here a bit so I can go get something for our restless patient."

Trowa stared at Duo as if trying to decide something, then nodded once, firmly. "I'll stay," he said, moving towards Wufei, picking up his legs and putting them on the bed again.

"Well," said Duo. "I'll be right back. The two of you behave."

"Maxwell," said Wufei before the braided pilot could disappear. "Think you can bring a toothbrush or something…"

"Will do," said the chestnut haired pilot cheerfully, before walking out leaving Trowa with a look of indecision on his face.

"What do you want, Barton?" the Chinese pilot asked bluntly as soon as Duo was out of hearing range.

"Quatre was here," Trowa replied. "And he didn't look too pleased when he came out. Did you say anything to…?"

"You'll have to ask Maxwell," said Wufei looking around. He had only heard a part of the conversation by the time he'd awaken, and he was not about to point out who was talking with who about what as he was not into finger pointing. "Did you just come here, as Maxwell would say, to beat me up if I'd hurt his feelings?"

Trowa did not reply straight away. "I don't like it when people …distress him," he finally answered.

"And you do that to him all the time," Wufei said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked, though his voice said he knew what Wufei was referring to.

"Let me tell you something," said Wufei, pushing his legs off the bed again. "You make him feel terrible every time you go off with Yuy." He stood up, staggered and sat down hard, panting.

"You should stay in bed for at least another day," Trowa said in his emotionless voice as Wufei stayed half-seated on the bed, trying hard not to double over since it would strain his back. "Lie back and wait until Duo comes back."

"I didn't thank you for picking me up," Wufei said slowly, refusing to lie back. His body was his own to command and he was going to conquer it as he had been doing all his life.

"You would have done the same for any one of us," Trowa answered and Wufei realized that it was true. A month before, he would not have cared if any of them had crashed their Gundams into the sun, but now, he would go rushing after them to the rescue. Curling his upper lip in disgust, he looked away, not wanting to answer to the emotions which rose within him.

"Guess what," said Duo walking in, sounding overly loud. "Food, out of a can and it's not even cat food. Tro, why don't you feed him while I…"

"Stay," said Trowa, already walking towards the door. "You two need to talk."

"We don't need to talk," said Duo standing by the door. "I never talk. Who said anything about talking when…" he was apparently talking to Trowa's back as the taller boy walked out silently. "What's there to say?"

"We could start with how I became slant-eyed and oily-haired," Wufei said dryly, as he reached for the plate. The last thing he needed was food; his stomach was already rebelling that the thought. His headache wasn't all that bad and he knew he would heal faster than what was predicted by Sally but still his body needed energy to heal and he was going to provide it with substance whether it felt like it or not.

"Ow, man," wailed Duo. "Do you have to bring that up? I was angry with you, all right? But now…" he stopped, looking guilty and a little out of his depth, making Wufei curious as to what was about to happen. "We'll talk about it later, like when you can stand on your own two feet."

"You seem to have bitten your tongue, Maxwell," he bullied, looking at his food, which was a pitiful brown mess that reminded him of dog excrement . The thought of putting it in his mouth was already making him wish he was dead.

"Don't call me that!" Duo exclaimed in disgust. "It's always Maxwell this and Maxwell that. Call me Duo like everyone else does. Even Heero calls me Duo."

"Fine," said Wufei and trust a spoonful of the stuff into his mouth, nearly chocked on it and swallowed it. The lump of goo stuck to his throat and made a painful decent halting every half a second to try and climb back up. "What is this?" he gasped once he was sure he was not about to decorate Duo's feet with it.

"High energy, high protein food for pilots, sworn to be free of those pesky crumbs, which get into your space suit and console panel," Duo said as if reading off the back of a can, which he probably had. "Heero likes it so I thought you might as well."

"The day Yuy and I have similar taste will be the day we slow dance at one of Relena's balls," Wufei growled, not wanting to admit that he might have actually found the whole thing edible, had he not been suffering from a headache, which was getting worse.

"I'd like to see that," Duo said with a cheeky grin. "How about a cheese sandwich with onions and tomatoes…?"

Wufei leaned back, taking deep breaths to fight his nausea. "No," he said sharply. "No food just yet, Max…Duo."

"That was a start," Duo said noting the hesitation over his name. "Why don't you lie back and I'll get you some painkillers and…"

"I need to brush my teeth," Wufei confessed. The inside of his mouth tasted as if he hadn't brushed his teeth since the he had been extremely sick on…Trowa's shoes.

"Thought you might feel this way," said Duo. "Think you can stand up…and lean against me for a bit? The washroom's just down the hall."

"Where are we?" Wufei asked, taking an interest in where they were for the first time. He was in a large room with padded white walls and a broken pool table in the corner. It was definitely not a bedroom by any means.

"Rec room," said Duo. "I think this is some big house and there are four bedrooms upstairs and since no one was using this, we decided this would do as the fifth."

Four bedrooms up and Wufei knew who would use which. He had a feeling he might have gotten the downstairs room in any case; after all, he was the loner and the odd one out. He was not going to complain but once in a while, the isolation did cut into him, as if he was cut off from the rest. "So, I'm in the correct room," Wufei said.

"Actually," said Duo, probably catching onto part of Wufei's though process "Your room is upstairs. Heero wanted this room so he can guard the entrance and stuff."

"Help me up." The request cost him as much as it did for him to stand up. For a moment, Wufei was sure he was going to pass out and from the semi-panicked look on Duo's face, it was obvious he thought the same.

"Maybe you should stay here while I bring you a…"

"Forget it," he gritted out and started the long trek out the room. "You…can tell me why you were angry with me before I left," he said, more to distract himself from the pain.

"I was angry," Duo answer shortly. "You were snogging with Heero when you…you should have …"

"Been with you?" Wufei asked in stopping in mid-stride. "Are you suggesting that we were exclusive or something?"

"Yes, no…I mean, I don't know," Duo floundered. "I'm not good with this relationship crap and all that and …we are sixteen for god's sake so…"

"Relationship," repeated Wufei, wondering just how serious his head injury was. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Well, no need to panic," said Duo. "I didn't suggest we get married or anything. Just forget I said that. Oh…shit sorry man, you mean you're going to be sick as in throw up not because of what I…?"

They barely made it to the washroom before Wufei emptied the pitiful contents of his stomach into the sink then leaned against it, dry heaving. "I know this is a bad time to ask but…" said Duo holding out Wufei's toothbrush with a dollop of Super-Mint Toothpaste on it "…it wasn't what I said that made you barf, right?"

Wufei was not feeling up to it at all. The last thing he needed was Duo's prattling when his head was about to explode and his insides were trying to climb out, including his liver and lungs by the feel of it. As he opened his mouth to tell Duo exactly what he felt like, he went rigid. The purple eyes were wide with worry and Duo was fiddling with his braid, hopping from one foot to another, which made Wufei remember he had a full bladder. Those eyes looked at him anxiously from under the fringe, waiting and waiting, hopeful and braced for pain at the same time. It was an important move, even Wufei understood. The L2 pilot had just bared himself to someone and he was waiting for …for a confirmation one way or the other.

Wufei was not so blind that he didn't know he was no prize. Heck, Duo could have done better with any one of the other pilots. He was bad tempered, anti-social and near-sighted to the boot. And he wasn't sure as to what he felt for the other boy. He was new at this personal feelings department.

"All right, don't answer," said Duo, looking worried. "You know, I've done some pretty odd things and you might not find them acceptable with your code of ethics and all…" And Wufei remembered Duo defending prostitutes the night he had been brought in. The memory was faint, overshadowed by pain, but he remembered it nonetheless. He should have been shocked, but he had stopped looking at things in black and white a long time ago and …he found he couldn't judge Duo for that. He knew Duo had grown up in the streets so maybe he had sold himself but Wufei also knew knew that it wasn't that simple. Duo was a damn good pilot and that was what mattered.

Wufei turned around and spat, then rinsed his mouth, using the time to phrase his answer. When he looked around the other boy was silent, his eyes full pain but his back was straight and his mouth firmly shut.

"I … don't know how I feel about you," he admitted finally.

"Oh, well," said Duo. "Can't be all bad. You just forget I ever said those things and wash up… you have blood on your hair but Trowa says you can't bath for another week or so. If you get your stitches wet they might get infected and…"

"Doesn't mean I'm about to reject what you're offering," Wufei said softly. "I'd like to get to know you better, maybe as more than friends." There, he'd said it…not exactly what he'd expected but he'd never had a choice with Meiran. Now he did and he was…

"You mean it?" said Duo, his eyes shining brightly. Wufei nodded, feeling lightheaded and unsteady. But at that moment, his headache was gone and he was thinking very, very clearly.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

Wufei was actually happy to get back to bed, if he could believe it. He was grateful for the fluffy pillow, the smooth bedcover and the soft mattress; things that would have had him running for cover some time back. He truly did not have any use of luxury items, but just then he thought he might going to thank Winner for his thoughtfulness.

"Duo, wait," he said when he'd caught his breath. "We need to talk."

"Maybe after you've gotten some sleep," Duo said reaching for the medication.

"No, just… about us," said Wufei. Here was something he was not used to talking about. Had it been about anything else, he could have strung two sentences together but when it came to human relationships he was lost. "I was hoping to keep this to ourselves for the time being."

"I think that's a good idea," Duo agreed as he sat on a corner of the bed.

Wufei relaxed, trying not to react to the intimate gesture, knowing that if they were to be 'more than friends' then they'd be spending a lot of time in each other's personal space. He suddenly smiled. "How about a kiss, Duo, as a way of sealing our…"

"…whatever," said Duo leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss of the Chinese pilot's lips. It was tender … loving, definitely not pushing it and then he continued to place small kisses on his neck and chest. Wufei had to smile at the feeling; he was going to enjoy this part of the relationship.

"I think we'll have to continue this another time," Wufei said as he yawned. Yawned… "What _did_ you give me?" he demanded.

"Sedatives and painkillers mainly," Duo said without a blush. "Something for possible infection and fever. Nothing I'd not want in me if I looked like you."

Wufei did not answer, knowing he must look bad. But there had been no mirror in the small washroom and he had not requested for one. Good looks were the last thing the five of them needed to worry about. Their lives were spare, clothes in a bag, bare necessities and quick conversations. If the war was finally over for real, maybe, they'd have the right to at least have an extra blanket without feeling guilty about excess weight in the Gundam.

He could do that. Read a few more books, talk to people and shout at, and he could have a relationship with Duo Maxwell. He shifted to the side and made a little more room in his bed. "Lock the door," he said. "If I'm going to be in bed, then you might as well spend some time with me in it."

A/n- for ppl who think it's smooth sailing after this…you wish.

Also I'm not a native English speaker so if the sentence sound off, it's coz they are. :)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- when I first send this chapter to Stray (who is my beta), she blasted me for going for the stereotype Duo of fanfiction a.k.a the virgin / slut. I did drop a couple of hints on the way so some of you must have spotted them. I was fully aware of it when I wrote him as such but damn, I wish I'd thought of this idea first and not someone else. Seriously, I need him to act this way for the plot to advance so apologies in advance. Not one of my favorite chapters but hope you enjoy.

Thank you for the revives, ppl. I am posting fast coz of the encouragement you keep on giving me.

Chapter 11

Duo was actually in a good mood by the time the day had wound down to a halt and they were checking their mail before they all retired to bed. He and Wufei had been 'together' for about a week and the other boy was recovering nicely. He could see him on the training mat, stretching carefully, going through a few exercises used to keep the body flexible. They had not spent much time together and as far as the others were concerned there was no change in their behavior. Then again, Quatre and Trowa were going to pains to avoid each other and Heero would not have cared if they were running around naked with ostrich feathers up their butts as long as they completed their missions.

He and Wufei usually spend some time in the rec room, sharing the bed(for lying down, nothing else) and kissing. Duo also knew that very soon Wufei would be hundred percent cured and then would want to take it a step further. As much as he enjoyed the _thought _of sex…

"Hey, look," said Quatre as he worked his way down the letter he was reading on his laptop. "One of my sisters is going to get married."

"One of your chosen three?" Duo asked as he snapped back to present time. He looked at Wufei who had stopped his exercising for the day and was wiping off sweat with a small towel. Heero was tapping away at his own laptop, his face a mask of disdain, and Trowa was reading some book in the corner. They might not really say anything to each other but Duo had noticed that they always found ways to be in the same room whenever possible.

"No," said Quatre. "They'll be coming to Earth soon, so let me know when you're ready to go. It'll be for about three days; we'll be back in no time so you don't have worry about missing out on any of the missions," he added, seeing Duo's displeased look.

"Give me notice in advance," Duo said as his muscles stiffened again in anticipation Wufei walked towards him. He wondered if this was where Wufei would touch him or at least give an indication that he was 'with' Duo, but so far the 05 pilot had kept his distance when the two of them were together in a group.

"Duo," said Wufei politely. "Barton tells me that my stitches are ready to come out. I should be all right now so…"

'_He wants to have sex with me_,' Duo thought in panic. '_I knew it; he's going to say it now_.'

"…I'm fully able to pilot a gundam and take up a mission should you and Winner want to go somewhere." Now he'd heard it all.

Duo wasn't sure if he was going to cry in disappointment or in relief.

"Since when did Duo become Duo and I remain Winner in your books?" Quatre asked. "And no Wufei, the reason we were not leaving is not because we thought you couldn't take care of yourself, but because we'd feel better knowing you are not alone. Admit it, those two wouldn't keep you company like we do. And since none of us have a lot to do it's nice to be at home base."

"So, wedding?" Duo asked, before Quatre wanted to know why Wufei referred to him and only him by first name.

"It's not going to be anytime soon," Quatre said with a smile. "You have no idea the amount of details that go into it. The bride's dress to order, the flower arrangements, all that food and things to be shipped from Earth." He mock-shuddered and then laughed. "I've only lived through about two and let me tell you, it took us over six months to arrange each of those."

"Sounds like a lot of bother for something simple," Heero said suddenly, making it evident he had been listening to the conversation.

"Yeah, but in their opinion they only get married once so why stint on it?" Quatre said. "Plus, it gives my sisters chance to show off their dresses and shoes to all the others."

"There I was thinking all it took was a priest," said Duo. "Not that you get your marriages blessed by a priest, right?"

"Depends on whom she's marrying. We don't always marry into the same religion and all that. There are different customs on colonies but the food remains the same," Quatre said with a shrug. "Nothing here about it." He pointed at the screen. "…but I'll have the Maganacs run a background check on the guy as soon as possible."

"It's nice to hear you're leaving nothing to chance," said Duo, feeling a little odd at hearing his friend so causally mention that he was going to run a background check on his sister's fiancé . "So what do you think of weddings, Wu?"

"Haven't been to one since mine," Wufei said, distractedly. "That didn't turn out too well."

There was a silence as all the pilots froze, including Heero and Duo stopped breathing. "You have a wife!" Duo exclaimed. "WIFE…where is she?"

"She died when OZ attacked my colony," Wufei said shortly as the rest of the group continued to stare at him. Realizing that he'd dropped a hint about his past, which was far too revealing, he picked up his towel and walked out abruptly. "I'm going to catch up on my reading," he said as he went around the corner.

"No wonder he's so moody," said Quatre. "He must have loved her very much."

"Wonder why he married her when he's so young," Duo speculated. "Do you think she was pregnant or something and he had to marry her?"

"He probably had his reasons," Trowa said softly. "Better leave him to it."

"Wonder what her name was," Duo said, feeling a jealous of Wufei's long dead lover. _How do you fight a ghost?_

"If he wants you to know, he'll tell you," Heero said smartly, snapping shut his laptop. "I'm going to go over Wing again."

"I'll come with you," said Trowa, standing up, making Quatre stiffen.

The two pilots left, leaving the other two battling their inner feelings in the silence.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111---

When Duo walked into the rec room, which was now officially Wufei's room, the dark haired boy was sitting on the bed, one leg folded under him, the other bent at the knee, leaning against a propped up pillow, reading a book. He had taken a shower and dressed in his white pants and black tank top, before retiring with a book. His hair was wet, plastered down his neck, framing his face adorably. His small reading glasses were resting on his nose, making him look thirteen. Duo approached the bed slowly and stood admiring for a few seconds before finally sinking into a corner.

"Hey, Wu," he said softly.

Wufei did not bother replying, just moved aside, making room for an additional person beside him.

Duo hesitated, then got up again before going to the door and locking it. Wufei looked up at the sound of the blot slamming into place and Duo shrugged. "Heero and Trowa went to the hangar and Quatre decided to get some sleep. I just don't want anyone walking in on us," he explained.

"Won't they wonder why we have the door locked?" Wufei asked, looking at Duo from over the rim of his glasses. They did lock the door occasionally when they needed to fool around but never when the other pilots were awake. Even though Quatre, Trowa and Heero had retired upstairs there was still the risk of one of them deciding to check the locks before going to bed.

In reply, Duo went to the window in the room and pushed it open. A small, neglected garden could be seen beyond the. "I'll just jump out of here," he said. "You explain to them why you wanted to lock your door. Though around here everyone locks their doors. And I think Heero makes his bed to look as if someone's sleeping in it and sleeps elsewhere."

"How would you know?" Wufei asked, looking amused.

"I ran into him when he was sleeping in the kitchen the two days back - when I went to get a night time snack," Duo explained. He toed off his shoes and climbed on the bed, careful not to shake it too much, a habit left over from the past week when even the smallest of movements could jar Wufei's back, then settled against Wufei's chest as he continued to read.

For a while the only sound in the room was the sound of pages turning and the soft sighs as Duo breathed. Most people who had seen Duo move, imagined him to be hyperactive to the point that remaining still for longer than ten minutes would kill him. What they did not take into account was that he was the best thief they had, and to be a successful a thief, you had to be patient. Still, it did not stop him from sliding down until his head was level with Wufei's chest and toying with the black tank top.

The open sides gave him access to the golden colored skin, marred with scars -but they were all scared in one way or another so Duo did not mind it. He began to trace a single silver scar, which started somewhere near Wufei's armpit and snaked down towards the chest, to finally become concealed by the black clothe. Duo leaned forward and licked the corner of the scar which he had traced up to the point where it was hidden, nodded and leaned back. Wufei calmly turned a page and shifted a little, so his legs would not fall asleep.

Emboldened, Duo pushed the annoying top aside but it kept on snapping back to place, which forced him to pull out a small blade from his hair and commenced to slice it away. Duo did not believe in wasting clothes since he came from a background where what you wore was all you got. However, he was going to seduce Wufei which was something he had never tried before, and therefore doing things out of character was probably acceptable. Wufei stilled at the new turn of events, then seemed to take it in stride, letting Duo cut off his top. Now Duo could see where the scar had run to; right down the middle. Wufei was almost hairless and all muscles, and Duo watched the golden skin twitch as he fingered it delicately. (Surprise, surprise, Quatre was the only pilot to show a hint of chest hair and his natural blond coloring made it less obvious.)

Satisfied with Wufei's reaction to his action, Duo swooped down and claimed the other boy's nipple in his mouth. Wufei jerked, his book jumping up before he could calm himself. Smirking, now that he was on the correct path, Duo attacked his boyfriend with renewed enthusiasm, leaned over for the other nipple which was already stiffening to a tiny, chocolate brown point.

He continued his oral ministrations, nipping lightly before following it with a small kiss then moving on, never lingering in one place for long. Wufei stopped reading his book as his hands fell to the side. One hand clutched the bed sheet while the other he brought up to pat Duo on the back. "What are you doing?" he gasped.

"Getting your attention," Duo replied, looking up with a smirk.

"You got it," Wufei said, with one of his rare smiles. He put the book side, marking his place carefully with a bookmark and pulled Duo up to him. He placed a hand on either side of his face and kissed him soundly. Their positions allowed for a closer physical contact, so it was natural when Wufei pulled Duo up until he was lying on Wufei's chest.

"Does that mean I'm on top," Duo teased lightly, letting Wufei feel his erection. He could feel Wufei's own erection pressing into his thigh through the thin cotton pants and his jeans, and excitement raced through him. He paused for a moment and decided that he felt great. He could do this. Wufei was not going to be thinking about his dead wife, ever, once he was finished.

"I'll show you who's on top," growled Wufei, rolling over, taking Duo with him, and the Deathscythe pilot complied willingly. This was not a show of strength -- and anyway, who could beat Wufei in hand to hand combat? They continued to kiss until they were panting for breath. Then Wufei started to undo the top button of Duo's shirt, something he hadn't done before and Duo joined in enthusiastically. He pulled off his shirt and threw it aside, forgetting his earlier comment about making a quick get away should anyone come into the room. He didn't even know where his shirt had landed and suddenly his jeans were sliding down his legs. He even helped Wufei with the unyielding denim (if he'd known it was that difficult to take it off in a hurry, he'd have stuck to his black sweats) pushing them out of the way and then…

…he felt Wufei's erection near his stomach and…

…Wufei reached for the waistband of his underwear…

…and he was back in the streets trying to fight the older man off him. The man who was stronger than him, faster, and bigger. The man who was going to tear his clothes off and hurt him so much he was going to bleed for weeks and ….He tried to force himself to relax and fall into the mood. But Wufei was inexperienced and was unaware that his partner wasn't as responsive as he was before. Driven by his own need, Wufei only made the situation worse, slipping hand in through Duo's waist band and squeezing his butt…

He lashed out, screaming, scratching, all his formal training forgotten, back to being a street rat corner by foes stronger than him. He could hear someone shouting at him in the background but all he could do was swear in broken standard and pre-colonial English, "don't touch me" and "stay away from me" with a smattering of "please, don't hurt me" as he fought free of his would be assailant and dived into a safe, dark, corner.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

When Duo opened his eyes he discovered, much to his dismay, that he was crouching in the corner of the room in his underwear, whimpering under his breath. His face was tear-stained and his hands hurt from hitting something hard. Crouched in front of him, looking concerned, dressed in a pair of white cotton pants was Wufei. Duo could see a bruise forming in his left cheek and his lower lip was split. He had to swallow twice before he could force himself to speak. "Wu, I'm sorry man…"

"Are you alright?" Wufei asked in low voice, speaking as he was dealing with a five year old or a mentally challenged idiot. '_I might as well be_,' Duo thought as he grimaced at what must have happened. He'd attacked Wufei and fled to a corner of the room to hide as if… as if his boyfriend had tried to rape him. And he'd been the one who'd initiated everything it in the first place.

"I'm fine," Duo said, dismay evident in his voice. "I'm so …so totally sorry about all this and…"

"Maybe you should sit for a little while and I'll call someone," Wufei said reaching for him carefully. He held out his left hand, palm up, fingers spread and Duo wondered just how badly he had been behaving.

"No, no one," Duo said hastily, not wanting anyone else to see his humiliation. "How…how long was I…" _'catatonic'_

"A couple of minutes," Wufei said in his 'for-idiots' voice. "You were shouting a bit and thrashing around but…"

"Shouting," said Duo latching on to the word. "How bad? Was I screaming or something?"

"Not that bad," Wufei said. "No one upstairs could have heard you and…"

"Oh my God," said Duo, jumping to his feet. "Wufei, find me my jeans. Unlock the door now."

"You're free to leave," Wufei said, mistaking his hurry. "I have no intention of forcing you against your will, Maxwell."

"No," said Duo, trying to explain it all at once while pull up his jeans, which had gotten turned inside out in their hurry to undress. "You don't understand, just open the door before he breaks it down."

"Who are you talking about?" Wufei asked as he handed Duo his shirt, still keeping his distance. He pushed the bolt open, more it seemed, as a way of reassuring Duo than anything else.

"Heero," said Duo in a semi-loud whisper. "He must have heard me shouting."

"What does that…" said Wufei, freezing when the room door swung open and pilot 01 walked in. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue shorts and a white shirt, and Duo wondered if he ever slept. There was no way Heero could look that fresh if he'd woken up just then.

"I heard something," Heero said flatly. "Is there a problem?"

"Sorry to wake you up," Duo said with a cheeky grin, his mask on. "Just… rough housing a bit."

"Are you injured?" Heero asked as he stepped further into the room. He took in Wufei, bare to his waist, bruises starting to show and moved forward. Before Wufei could react Heero had gotten hold of his lower jaw in one hand, in an iron grip then rotated his face from side to side as he checked for damage. With his free hand, Heero probed the split lip and the cheekbone then Wufei's back and finally his strained knee, which they had all but forgotten about.

"Hn." Satisfied that Wufei's injuries were not life threatening, Heero transferred his attention to Duo, checking his pupils and the tracks of dried tears with interest. When he was sure that both pilots were in a condition to take out fifty Leos using their gundams, he nodded and moved away. He never asked why Duo was in Wufei's room instead of his or in the training area, and he most certainly did not ask why Duo was standing there in a pair of jeans, zipped up but not buttoned, and a shirt buttoned up wrong.

As abruptly as he'd arrived, Heero turned his back to them and moved out, leaving them alone.

"What was that about?" Wufei asked the moment their fellow pilot had moved out.

"You mean you haven't noticed?" said Duo as he buttoned up the jeans. "Since we are getting fewer and fewer missions he's given himself a mission, which seems to be to make sure we are all in working order."

"I must have missed it," said Wufei, looking a little lost.

"Well, he stayed up with you the night you were first brought back and he was the one who undressed you," Duo said. "I think in his own way, he worries about everyone."

"You seem to understand Yuy better than any of us," Wufei said dryly. "Far more than I seem to understand you."

Duo winced at the blow and tried to look sure of himself. "I'm sorry about it man, it's just that I've got a few bad memoirs under my belt… literally and…"

"Were you raped?" Wufei asked in his no-nonsense fashion.

"Yes." When faced with a direct question, Duo couldn't lie. "It was long time back on L2 when I was on the street after the Church blew up but…"

"I thought you worked as a prostitute," Wufei said, with his characteristic lack of social skills. "I was under the impression you were used to sex with other men."

Duo cringed under the words. Was that why Wufei had agreed to be with him? Because he had been a street walker and he was used to sex? Did Wufei want to have sex with him and what would he do now that he found out Duo wasn't able to deliver what he'd promised?

"I…no," he said. "I mean…I couldn't bring myself to take it in the arse but I did manage to pick their pockets while giving them blow jobs." He moved toward Wufei, trying to swing his hips seductively, knowing he was going to fail miserably but still trying. "It's just something I'll get over. Give me time, man, and in a few days we'll be all over each other." He reached Wufei and kept a hand on his chest, feeling the flow of smooth muscles and Wufei stepped back, hands held up, palms open, over his head.

"I don't think it's a good idea Max…Duo," he said. Duo heard the slip up with his name and panicked. Did that mean Wufei was loosing interest in him already?

"It's still me," Duo said slowly.

"I don't think you are dealing with this correctly," Wufei said firmly.

"Sex isn't everything," Duo tried again. "I give a mean blow job. I had people from all over the place… you don't want to hear that and I haven't done that since I joined the Sweepers but still… like I said."

"Maybe you should go to your room," Wufei said, coldly as he moved back again.

"But…" Duo could feel his heart hammering. His very first relationship and it was over before he could begin. "Don't…chase me away," he said, letting his hands fall.

"I'm not chasing you away," Wufei said faintly. "I think you need a little time away from me to…"

"Let me sleep with you," Duo argued. "Just next to you in the bed, please."

Wufei stared at him for a little longer and then nodded. "Fine," he said abruptly, turning away completely and making the bed.

They had never spent the night in another person's bed and though Wufei had fallen asleep with Duo in bed several times when he was under medication they had never woken up together.

'_No worries about waking up together_,' Duo thought sourly. '_It's not like we're going to fall asleep tonight._'

Wufei was a stiff body next to him, wide awake and breathing carefully. What kept Duo awake was not the fear that Wufei would force himself on Duo during the night; it was just the opposite - that Wufei would never touch him after that.

After three hours of looking at the light from the window making the shadows moving on the wall, Duo spoke softly. "Wu, what was your wife's name?"

Wufei said one word softly, making his heart freeze. "Nataku."

Duo did not know how the rest of the night was spent. He was churning with emotions and did not know how to react. Wufei's wife was a fifty foot gundam with which he fought for justice and truth. How was he, a mere street rat, going to compete with it? If he could have cried, he would have.

A/N- I do churn out these chapter pretty fast so if you spot any mistakes point them out, pleases. Neither Stray nor I are native English speakers so we do miss certain things.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N – the fast pace of updating is coz I'm putting up the chapters I've already written. Once that runs out, I'll be a regular slow poke…plodding over chapters. At the moments I've been stuck on one chapter for the past two weeks and it's very annoying. But thank you for the reviews ppl…a little encouragement goes a long way.

By the way I found out about the abrupt transitions. My paragraph breaks don't appear in ff net. Damn, I noticed it just now. Sorry ppl, I'm fixing it, asap. And oops, when I said this wasn't going to be 3x4 I meant there won't be anything explicit as in sex between the two…the possibility for 3x4 exist. Some must have wondered why I put that pairing as a final pairing then say it's not. My mistake. Sorry.

Chapter 12

Wufei was the first out of bed, and he made his way to the washroom and back in record time, dressed before Duo could even shake his hair free. They moved about silently, getting dressed and combing hair, behaving as if they were about to attend a funeral.

"Well," said Duo as he looked at Wufei who was looking out the window. "Can I just say last night was an unmitigated disaster and leave it at that?"

Wufei however, found out that he did not want to 'leave it at that.' "How long ago were you raped?" he asked bluntly, not having much use for small talk.

"You haven't heard of easing into the conversation, have you?" Duo asked with a wry smile. "Doesn't it look less serious in the bright sunlight of the morning?"

In answer, Wufei fingered his lower lip and felt bad when Duo winced and looked away. His lip was split, an injury worth as much attention as a broken fingernail, but Duo was feeling guilty about it. "I think you need help," Wufei said softly.

"I don't need help," Duo said sharply. "I don't have a problem. Give me time and I'll be… be okay with it." He was using his façade of good will to brush away the incident and pretend everything was alright, but to Wufei, things had shifted. He did not know how to react. Everyone assumed that Trowa was the emotion-stuck of the five, the person who was quiet and withdrawn, but in fact it was Wufei who lacked finess when it came to handling people. He did not know how to behave towards people or react to situations where human relationships were concerned. Trowa, in his own way, understood people the same way he understood animals but Wufei had failed. He had failed to understand his wife and now, his would-be lover.

Duo was hurting but Wufei did not have the experience on what to say or do. He could pilot a gundam but that did not amount to rape trauma counseling or dealing with people who needed to be handled gently. Something in his outlook had changed. He could deal with physical actions, hurt and pain, but everything else was a mystery to him.

"I don't know how to deal with you," he said softly. "Duo, you were shouting for me to stay away last night and you were terrified of me. I …can deal with physical weaknesses but…"

"There always that isn't there?" Duo said with a wry smile. "I am weak and you don't have the patience to deal with it."

"I don't think you're weak," Wufei said hastily. He admired Duo's bravery, the way he would push away his fear and react. The way Duo had come to his bed the night before even though he'd been afraid. "I am not familiar with the concept of …dealing with abuse victims."

Duo looked as if Wufei had thrown him over a cliff. "I'm not a victim," he snarled angrily. "I have …"

"Have you had sex with another man since you were raped?" Wufei asked, a question which had been bothering him for sometime.

"No," Duo answered. "Not yet. But back home, a bunch of my mates and I did mess around a bit but, well, it didn't turn out so good so I gave up on that and thought I'd wait until I met someone special."

Wufei nodded as he acknowledged the blow. He wasn't special enough but he was willing to try. He was no fool to think Duo was not special but to deal with this was impossible; he felt emotionally castrated. "What happened to the person who did this to you?" he asked instead. Physical violence he could deal with. He could avenge this wrong the only way he knew how.

"Who knows," Duo said with a shrug. "Kids like us were dime a dozen all over L2 and people who prey on them…man, who doesn't?"

"It seems so unjust," Wufei said, trying to understand it. He might not have grown up in the kindest of homes but their entire colony operated as a clan. Everyone looked after everyone else and it was the clan leader's responsibility to look after the wellbeing of others; a position he or she took very seriously. Even the poor had something to eat and there were no unwanted children.

"Yeah," said Duo. "Life happens. I'm going to scoot off to my room and get a change of clothes."

Wufei wanted to do something for Duo, something that would reassure him, but he was afraid to touch him. A part of him knew it was ridiculous; that Duo was not going to panic if he touched him; that yesterday his actions had triggered some memory in Duo, which had terrified him, but the part of him that remembered seeing the buddle of fear in the corner was reluctant. In the end, he settled for a careful hand on Duo's shoulder and gave a cautious peck on the temple.

Instantly, Wufei knew it was the wrong thing to have done, though he couldn't figure out why. Duo looked as if Wufei had kicked him in the crotch and fled the room.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --- !!!!!!!!!!----

Sunrise found Wufei brewing Herbal tea at the counter, hair tied back firmly, spine straight. Trowa came in a few minutes later and poured himself a cup as well, sipping it slowly in small mouthfuls as it should be, not reacting to the bitter taste.

They drank tea in silence, each to his own thoughts, until Wufei finally opened his mouth. "How do you do it?" he asked softly. "Hurt someone you like?"

"I'm doing it for his own good as well as mine," Trowa said. "I can't let my feelings for Quatre interfere. If he gets involved with me, he'll lose sight of his objectives." He poured himself another cup of tea and continued. "I don't want to weaken him. He has his own things to look after, his sisters to care for. He shouldn't be …bogged down with me. I'll go back to Catherine after all this is done and…" He stopped when he realized Wufei was staring at him.

"I wasn't talking about you," Wufei said softly, tilting his face lightly so Trowa could see the bruise forming on his cheek. "I just wanted to know: can you hurt someone unwittingly?"

"I don't know," Trowa answered, refusing to ask where Wufei had gotten the bruise from. It was one thing Wufei liked about the other boy; he respected others' privacy and knew when to remain silent. Wufei had been grateful of the silent support but he had to know.

"Why Yuy?"

Trowa did not pretend to misunderstand. "He wanted it and it seems so uncomplicated," Trowa said. "Not that I didn't want it but I can live without it. It's just a break from everything, but sometimes, I think for Heero our relationship means something different," he shrugged. "I can leave Heero and not look back; but with Quatre…" he shrugged. "If the day comes, I want him to be able to shoot me and not cry about it."

"Quatre'll never do that," Wufei said with certainty. "And what you're doing now is hurting him more."

There was no answer to that but as Trowa reached for the last of the tea and Wufei realized he was not going to be able to get his answers from the already confused boy. Trowa was too deeply sunk in his own problems to deal with Wufei's and he found himself wishing for Sally. Not to ask her for advice, of course, but sometimes, some of the things she'd said actually made sense once in a while and…

In the end there was only the five of them and they didn't know how to talk, not even with each other. Trowa was no help and Heero was about as emotional as a gundam, which left Quatre.

Wufei walked up the flight of steps that led to the upper floor bedrooms, something he had not done before. The staircase was of solid wood with a peeling balustrade sweeping up grandly, and Wufei had to appreciate the effect. Some time back, this house must have been the envy of the neighborhood. The rooms were well spaced-out, set along either side of a long corridor. Wufei knew that the first bedroom belong to Heero and facing it directly was Trowa's. Duo's bedroom was further back, facing Quatre's, and there were two bathrooms placed between each room. He had not been up here before, but listening to Duo talking had given him a pretty good idea of the layout.

He found Quatre's room quite easily and pushed the door in and stormed in, determined to get his problem over with. "Winner," he said. "We need to talk."

The blond cursed then turned around, his hand on his keyboard. "Haven't you heard about knocking?" he asked irritably.

"Should I go out and knock?" Wufei inquired. "Now that you know I'm here."

"No," said Quatre with a smile. "The day you learn your manners will be the day you… Never mind Wufei, I take it you came up to talk to me about something important."

"I wanted to know about something…" Wufei said, hesitating a little as he wondered how to answer.

"Does this have anything to do with Duo and that bruise you are sporting?" the blond inquired.

"Might," Wufei admitted.

"Is it personal?" Quatre asked. "Will Duo kill me if I know this?"

"Yes," Wufei said. Hell, with these one word conversations he was becoming as bad as Yuy. "Just…how did you know it was about Duo?"

"Last night," the blond said with a shrug turning around and fiddling with his laptop. "It's not something you would normally understand but something shook him up and I could feel it. But unless you are willing to talk this out with Duo first, don't come to me for advice. He might be a friend but he does value his privacy and if what you tell me is going to breach it, I don't want to know. Unless it's very serious…for example is he suicidal or…"

"Nothing like that," Wufei said quickly. "It's just that I think I might have reminded him of something in his past that disturbed him greatly."

"That's saying a lot while saying absolutely nothing," Quatre said. "Tell you what. I'm going to the Maganacs' Base with Duo and my sisters this week. I'll see if I can get him to talk while we're there. We always wind up in the same bedroom and since everything is taken care of by someone else, we usually have a bit more free time."

"Thank you," said Wufei, knowing it was for the best. Maybe, time away from him would help Duo see things in perspective.

"What are friends for?" said the blond as he turned around and he hastily tried to cover the screen as a pop up appeared. Wufei watched with amusement as the boy wrestled with the web site, trying to close them as more and more pop ups of…

"Winner," he said before he could help himself. "Are you surfing for gay porn?"

"Well, unlike you, I have not been blessed with a liking for the opposite sex," Quatre said snidely. "And there seems to be lot more to it than fitting plug A with plug B."

"Oh," said Wufei, swallowing dryly when he saw a photo which made him feel distinctly uncomfortable.

"I mean, Trowa isn't the only guy in the world and I'll eventually move on and it helps if I know the basic mechanics."

"Mechanics," repeated Wufei dimly as his feet took his closer to the screen until he was standing next to Quatre.

"Yeah," he said and Wufei could see the blond was blushing so hard his ears looked as if they were on fire. Not that he was unaffected either. "It seems more complicated than you'd expect; not like with women where you know what goes where ...um…" Wufei coughed and returned his attention to Quatre, blushing. He had been caught staring at the screen. "You want to do some research on this?" Quatre offered.

"Winner, I'm not sure …"

"I'm sure it's something sixteen year olds would normally do," he was offered tentatively.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

"Stupid," said Duo throwing a spanner. It hit the metal surface and bounced back, not even denting it. "Idiotic." He picked up some spare bolts and started throwing them, one by one at Altron.

"You are going to need those sooner or later," said the nasal voice of the last person he wanted to see. Duo spun around, cursing as a handful of nuts fell to the floor, rolling in all directions.

"Heero," he said. "You have to stop sneaking up on people like that."

"You were distracted," Heero pointed out.

"I had a good reason," Duo said. "I hate that thing."

"The gundam?" even Heero looked puzzled.

"Do you know what Wufei's wife was called?" Duo said before he could stop himself. "Nataku."

At that, Heero cracked one of his rear smiles. "I don't think that's possible," he said.

"Why ever not?' Duo demanded angrily.

"Because no matter how highhanded he gets, I think it's unlikely he married a god," Heero said sarcastically.

"A god!" Duo exclaimed. "Nataku is a god. The bastard. He said …"

"A male god," Heero confirmed. "Is something going on between you and Wufei? Last night…"

"Just leave it," Duo said hastily. He did not really dislike Heero, seeing that he and Heero had sort of connected, being the first two gundam pilots to have met. "It's confusing at best and I don't want to discuss it with you just now."

"Did you tell Quatre?" Heero asked next, making Duo pause. Why is the world would he want to…

On second thought, telling Quatre seemed like a good idea but still. "He's not our mother, you know," Duo said with a grimace. "He's just a kid with problems of his own and adding more on top of it wouldn't help." Plus, how was he going to tell Quatre he had problems with his sex life wen he hadn't even told his friend he was with Wufei.

"But I thought you and Quatre were…"

"Friends," Duo said with a shrug. "But this is between me and Wufei."

"But pelting his gundam with our tools is not going to help either," Heero pointed out reasonably.

"Maybe it's a Chinese thing," he said, remembering what was said earlier. "Do they get married to gods or something?"

"Not that I know of," Heero answered. "I only know they kept concubines...mosto f the emperors did…"

"Isn't that like a mistress?" Duo asked, interested by the turn of the conversation.

"They had a better position in court and were treated with about the same level of importance as the Queen," Heero explained.

"That's nice," said Duo dully, his mind whirling as he thought about his newly acquired information.

It was not concubines he was thinking of as he walked into his room, but about an acquaintance he'd had back in L2. Duo had no idea what had happened to the boy, an older prostitute who had befriended him for a small while. They had never been bosom buddies but he had hung out with Duo a bit and they had traded stories. One of his main incomes had been from an older man who hired him every Friday - or what counted as Friday - and took him back to his house.

"Doesn't his wife mind?" Duo had asked fascinated, after seen the boy get into a car with a man who looked like someone's favorite grandfather. Most of their clients did not take them home, it was usually to an alleyway or convenient junk pile.

"The old lady knows," the boy had snorted. "And she gives me cash to keep him busy so she gets some rest."

And that had been a cornerstone in his education. He knew people needed sex, which was why people paid for it or resorted to rape. It was also a way of life and L2 was full of rich people who slept around. All most people ever saw was the junk piles which did not mean there were no rich people on L2. Those people had built it and they lived in the lap of luxury. The street kids were the remnants of the workers who worked with the original settlers, those who could not afford to look after themselves. In some cases, certain parents had had enough money to buy passage on a ship to Earth for just themselves and had left, promising they'd return for their children but never had.

What interested Duo was not earning money, but the fact people with money always wanted sex. He had seen older men divorce older wives for younger ones, citing sexual prowess. He'd serviced men whose wives 'were not good enough' and it the end, sex made the colony spin. As he'd grown up, he'd understood that the basics of relationships were different from what he'd learned on L2, but a part of him always knew that a relationship without sex was going to lose out. What if Wufei got impatient while waiting for Duo to brace himself for sex? Duo liked kissing, he liked messing about but the thought of actual sex freaked him out. It was something everyone else, apart from him wanted.

But something Heero had said made him… think.

Which was why he made his way down the house, hoping to find Wufei in his room, reading another classic as usual. Instead, he found Wufei standing with his hands on his hips, a smug look on his face while an extremely flushed looking Trowa stood in front of him, fists bunched as if to hit him.

"He wouldn't," Trowa was snarling. "He's not like that."

"Go comb your hair, Barton," Wufei said derisively. "I think it's blocking your perspective."

"He wouldn't," Trowa said his tone less angry and more desperate.

Duo stepped closer, and Wufei look around Trowa at his movement and nodded. "Duo," he said, when he saw the other boy. "I was wondering where you were."

"You could have looked for me," Duo pointed out. "It's a big house, but still."

Trowa looked around at Duo then brushed past, his shoulder hunched.

"I though you might be avoiding me," Wufei answered reluctantly, ignoring Trowa completely. He moved back and sat on his bed, in his usual position.

"Why would I do that?" Duo queried going over and nudging Wufei so he'd move.

Wufei looked relieved as he moved to make room for Duo. "I…hurt you last time and…"

"You did not hurt me," Duo said firmly. "I might have hurt you but you did not…"

"But something I did…"

"You did nothing wrong," Duo interrupted and then they were silent for a while. "I was thinking," said Duo after a while. "About … us and all and well, see, and about Trowa and Heero."

"What about them?" Wufei asked.

"Remember you said you'd help me keep those two apart so Quatre would have a chance with Trowa?"

"I don't think it works that way Duo," Wufei said with surprising gentleness.

"Guess not," Duo said. "Heero wants sex and as long as Trowa gives that to him, they are stuck together."

"Duo," said Wufei stiffening

"I mean, Trowa and Quatre getting together is going to be hard when you have a readily available sexbot running around," Duo continued. "You have to admit Heero is programmed just right." He saw Wufei open his mouth to disagree so he hurriedly shook his head. "Maybe it was a part of Dr. J's master plan, if you can't blow up OZ, at least sleep through them."

"I've agreed help Quatre and Trowa since you asked," Wufei said formally, ignoring Duo's speculations. "I think I've been shoving them both in the right direction for some time now. You work on Quatre to take a firmer stand and I'll work on Trowa. See… we don't need to mess with Yuy in any way and it's less complicated…"

"But…" said Duo. "He is sex on legs isn't he? With his chocolate brown hair and those blue eyes which are soooo nice to look at and that body. You know he's got this nice…" He stopped when he looked at Wufei who was regarding him oddly.

"Are you trying to convince me to have sex with him or yourself?" he asked, and from the way he said it, it was no joke.

"Admit it," said Duo. "He's not half bad and you know it. At least where looks are concerned …" he gulped but kept on going. "…but still, I'm being an idiot and you can forget I ever said that.

"It's dishonorable," Wufei said bluntly making Duo feel as if he'd suggested they gang -bang Relena. "He's one of us no matter what. And I'm with you," he added showing that he was not all that dense. "As I should be. If you have a problem, we deal with it together, not look the other way."

Duo smiled at it and settled a little lower. Wufei did not comment on it and Duo decided not to bring up the point but he was thinking. He was going to go off with Quatre to the desert and leave Wufei, Heero and Trowa in the safe house. And he knew Heero had kissed Wufei once…

He conveniently forgot that he had done the same.

A/n- the next chapter will either make or break this fic so …here's keeping my fingers crossed.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N-firstly, sorry for not putting up the 'mention of past rape' notice in chapter 11. I seem to have spoiled the story for dd. Well, at least you seemed to have enjoyed yourself up to chapter 10, so better luck next time. I was under the assumption the hints I'd dropped, alone with the rating was enough to ppl to realize this was not a fluffy fic. The warnings are up. This is the chapter that is the turning point in the fic. I liked it. Stray liked it. Just don't kill me for this. Another a/n at the bottom you can skip or read.

I was going to hold this chapter back for a while but oh well…

Chapter 13

The day Duo and Quatre left, turned out to be a bit of a mess, when at breakfast, the perimeter sensors detected an unknown vehicle.

"Perimeter sensors!" said Quatre. "Who set those up?"

"Yuy most likely," said Wufei, picking up a kitchen knife as he stood up and made his way to the front.

It turned out to be a false alarm in the form of Sally Po who had been invited by...

"You gave out the location of our base," demanded Heero, looking as if he was about to shoot Trowa on the spot. Quatre hurriedly stepped between the two, diffusing the tension.

"Miss Po," he said, remembering his manners. "We were just having breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

"No, thanks," she said warmly. "But I won't say no to a cup of coffee." Quatre made a face while Duo whooped.

"Sally, nice to see you," Duo greeted the woman with an affectionate hug and kiss, which didn't surprise them as much as it should have. They had been close since the Peacemillion. "Yes, finally someone who appreciates a good cup of coffee. Everyone here drinks tea," he told her in a loud whisper; Sally looked amused.

"Wufei," she said, as she stepped around Heero who was doing an excellent imitation of a concrete pillar. "How are you?" and gave him a hug.

Everyone stared, including Trowa, who snickered loudly at the look of horror on Wufei's face. The Chinese boy had the look of someone who'd swallowed raw squid, only find its tentacles wriggling in his mouth, but he didn't push her away. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" she added stepping away. "As a doctor I'm horrified to see you out of it and on your feet but as someone who knows you Gundam pilots, I expected this."

"I'm fine," he snapped.

"I can see," she said. "But I want to remove those stitches personally." Wufei continued to scowl, his arms crossed, until Sally changed the subject by pulling out a long package. "I brought this along, just incase you might be interested," she said. "It's something I picked up in the black market but totally useless for my own needs."

Heero reached for it before any of them could, unwrapping it quickly. "It's a modified sniper gun," he said when the pale form was revealed.

"What's with the funky color?" Duo inquired reaching for it. When his hand closed over it, he frowned "and this isn't metal."

"It's a form of porcelain-carbon based heat resistant, almost no metal in it for a weapon, which means it can pass through most detectors… good for assassinations," Sally supplied.

Both Trowa and Heero reached for it at the same time but Quatre, who had been closer plucked it out of Duo's hand and broke it open, peering in to the chambers. "What sort of bullets does this use?" he asked thoughtfully. "Looks too narrow for the conventional bullet and the inner lining is odd."

"It's for the heat it generates," Sally said helpfully. "I think the bullets are hard to come by and pack quite a punch. Almost like a laser blaster, drills through the nearest surface.

"What are you doing with it?" he asked, curious.

"I thought it too valuable to destroy but where I am, I don't need accuracy, I need big guns," she explained.

"Don't tell me you've come to burrow a gundam," Duo said semi-playfully.

"Only if it's a last option and that's not just now," Sally said her voice firm. "I've come to see how Wufei is because he's the one who risked his life for me."

"Stupid woman," Wufei said dutifully and everyone, including Heero snickered.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

Duo had been gone for two hours with Quatre and the silence was already deafening. Wufei moved around, tiding his room, but there wasn't much to do. Gundam pilots were neat by nature and by training, and they had very few possessions to deal with in the first place. Wufei found a rather old t-shirt of Duo's under his bed which he added to the laundry, then proceeded to load the automatic machine, which had magically appeared once they'd all started living together.

At first, he had suspected it belonged to Quatre, but after the blond boy had admitted ignorance of anything related to laundry -- automatic or otherwise -- he'd revised that assumption. The thing was, Wufei knew he had not purchased it and Duo did not waste money on things like laundry. That left Heero and Trowa, which was equally disturbing.

Wufei walked around, collecting as much laundry and possible to fill up a load, then remembered that there had been some leftover jackets from the last mission in Altron's storage space. He walked slowly down the walkway to the underground hangar in favor of the elevator. He needed the exercise, however minimal, and since his back was still tender, he couldn't do anything really straining. He'd worked on his leg muscles and a few stretching exercises a fifty year old could have done but he knew better than to push himself before he was fully healed.

Once the laundry was done, he could work on his meditation, though nowadays sitting cross-legged pulled his lower back, which in turn made it difficult for him to concentrate. Perhaps if he found a more comfortable position, flat on his back perhaps or…

Wufei stopped hard to avoid running into Trowa who was also walking up the ramp. They stopped, looked at each other. Trowa opened his mouth as if to say something then he shrugged and looked down instead.

"Barton." Wufei was the first to speak. Trowa paused, opened his mouth again as if to talk, then shrugged and brushed past him, his shoulders hunched. Somehow, Wufei did not think it was good sign. Walking to the hangar, he noted that Trowa had left in a hurry. The hatch to Heavyarms was closed but not locked. It was not a major error but Wufei knew enough to spot it. And one of Heavyarms' chest-cannons was deployed. Whatever it had been, Trowa had left in haste and Wufei did not think it was for a toilet break. To his right, the eyes of Wing glowed green, signaling that someone was working on it and Wufei did not have to guess twice. He mentally slapped himself for being overly curious -- a woman's trait he could do without -- and went to get his spare kit out of Altron.

By afternoon, Wufei came to the realization that something was wrong. He cooked for three… well warmed up tinned food for three and ate for two and threw away the remains. With his inactivity and his eating binges he was going to put on more weight than it was good for him. By five, he fiddled with the vid-screen, thought of calling Duo and finally jumped when the central communication lit up. It meant one thing: a mission.

The other two pilots also appeared from no where and Wufei scowled at them. At least he had bothered to cook for them and do the laundry. Who was he, the woman of the group? Still, a mission should keep them busy, he thought as he switched it on and saw the last person he wanted to see. It was Lady Une.

"I've got a favor to ask from Officer Barton," she said with a faint smile, stressing the Officer to show that she was joking. Wufei was amused to see that she was wearing pink lip gloss. The relationship between women and the color pink was starting to scare him.

"What is it?" Trowa asked and Wufei frowned. He was sure there was an edge of eagerness in his voice.

"Nothing big," she confessed. "A minor fraction of the White Fang that had been hiding on a small asteroid had surrendered. I thought of sending a fleet of Mobile Suits to escort them back, then remembered that a gundam would make a more lasting impression. That way, if it's a trap we'll be prepared and…"

"I'll do it," Trowa interrupted before she could continue. "Send me the mission details."

"When can you leave?" Lady Une asked, sounding pleased but also slightly puzzled.

"Now," said Trowa abruptly before switching off the screen.

Wufei watched the acrobat's back as he moved away, the frown still marring his brow. Something was off. When he turned around to ask Heero the other pilot was no where to be seen.

By late afternoon, the laundry was done and Trowa had been gone for three hours. Wufei heated up two tins of soup, ironed and folded his clothes, then decided to put his spare kit in Altron. There was no way of predicting when you'd be called for a mission, even though it was getting less and less frequent. In a way, it made Wufei wary since he had no idea what to do when the war was really over. He had no colony to return to, no family and no roots. He had his colony's wealth but nothing to spend it on. His needs were few and inexpensive, and in a way, only the thought of having Duo stopped him from thinking too hard. Yet, things between him and Duo were at a stage where he didn't even want to think about it. He knew Duo would keep him busy and maybe, just maybe, having someone you can buy something for was not that bad.

Still, as he stowed his kit, he noted that the hangar lights were on and someone was still working on the Gundams. That someone most likely being brown haired and blue eyed. Still, it didn't stop him from being surprised when he saw that it was Sandrock which was being serviced, not Wing.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Wufei sat up in bed, alert, reaching for his sword before he was fully aware. He swung off the bed and prowled towards the sound he'd heard, his bare feet quiet on the carpeted floor. The noise which had awoken him had come from inside and he knew it had to be Heero. Yet, it never hurt to be sure.

He walked to the living room, his guard up, and stopped as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Heero was by the open door, silhouetted by the flood lights outside, his back turned to the room. Wufei reached the main light switch in two steps and snapped it on, closing his eyes to prevent being blinded. When he opened his eyes, Heero had spun around, gun pointed at Wufei.

"It's you," he said as he pointed it towards the ground.

"Going somewhere, Yuy?" Wufei inquired taking in everything. Unlike his usual shorts and tank top, Heero was dressed in denims, which fitted him nicely, almost as if tailored to his measurements, and a short sleeved t-shirt, pale blue with dark blue vertical lines. Slung over one shoulder was a back pack; Heero looked as if he was sneaking out.

"I have left instructions," Heero said, standing still.

"Where are you going?" Wufei asked, keeping his sword on a chair and walking forward. "Was there a mission request?"

"No," Heero answered. "But then again, it has been some time since someone has contacted me for a mission."

"That does not explain where you are going," Wufei said, knowing while Heero might say 'some time' he knew exactly how long it had been since a mission had been assigned to them. He wondered why they even bothered to call these little scouting trips and all 'missions', but old habits died hard and they just didn't know when to relax.

"I'm leaving," Heero said softly. "I am no longer needed here."

"Leaving?" Wufei in surprise. "As in for good?" He suddenly wished for Quatre who was much better at convincing people to stay.

"Yes." That was very informative.

"Why?" Wufei asked.

"We no longer need to stay together," Heero said. "Staying in a group draws too much attention to us and each of you have a place where you fit into. You have Sally, Duo will have the Sweepers, Quatre the Maganacs and Trowa will have Lady Une to assign missions. All those people will need you and will continue to protect you in return for your services. So it's time I moved on."

"Where will you go?" Wufei asked. "Have you left a contact number?"

"No," Heero said briefly. "But I'll contact you if I think you need it."

"What are you going to do?" Wufei asked, puzzled.

"What I do best," Heero said.

"Make conversation?" Wufei quipped before he could help it.

"Find trouble and deal with it," Heero said, ignoring the jib. "I think I'll be happier moving around. There are all these things happening out there… but staying here in an old house is cutting us off from the people. We need to move and see if anyone wants our help."

"You're going to provide a social service," Wufei spat out in surprise. "Yuy, what's gotten into you? You can't even speak to people – how do you think you can help them?"

"There's not much use of my continued existence without being of use… being needed for something, or someone. You cease to exist if…"

"No one notices you," Wufei finished the sentence. "Or assigns you missions." He added as an afterthought. "Yuy, the only reason they are not contacting you is because you are a wildcard. They don't know if they can control you or not. You always do things your own way and for a reason we cannot comprehend. I haven't exactly had people falling all over me, either, Yuy, or have you missed out on that?"

"You do not understand what I mean," Heero said with a shrug. "Don't try to stop me."

"I can't speak for everyone," Wufei said. "But… why do keep on saying no one needs you. We do need you!"

"You have confidence in my ability," Heero said. "That does not mean the four of you need me. I've reinstalled the Zero system into Sandrock," Heero replied. "Quatre can handle it better than I can in group battles and he is a better commander. Trowa..." he hesitated slightly. "…does not need me for anything more than a… a… he doesn't need me any more."

"Oh," said Wufei realizing what had happened. All of them were so used to Heero being stoic and silent that they had mistakenly thought it also meant emotionless. But Trowa had decided he no longer wanted to have sex with Heero on a regular basis because of the joint pressure of Wufei's prodding and Quatre's kicked puppy look; Heero had stopped being 'needed' by any of them. "About Trowa," he said. "Did he turned you down or stop …eh…screwing you?"

Heero did not answer, holstering his gun and shrugging.

"Yuy," Wufei tried again. "Heero, people don't stop needing you just because they …they stop having sex with you." He was handling this very badly but he was the only one present so he couldn't give up without a fight. "Heero, I have no idea where you got the conviction that sex meant being needed. My wife and I were the most ill-suited pair in the entire colony and she never needed me for anything." But what he was saying was not getting through so he tried again. "Human contact does not mean …oh, hell… where's Duo when you need him?"

"With Quatre," Heero supplied. "Anyway, it's time I left before dawn."

"Stay," Wufei pressed. "You are the best and we do operate well as a team."

"Hn."

"And … Heero," Wufei tried one last time. "Just because Trowa does not have sex with you does not mean you have outlived your usefulness with us. It doesn't work that way…you…"at a loss of what to say he leaned forward and caught Heero bicep in a firm grip. He was _this_ close shaking him to see if that would knock some sense into him. "Yuy, physical contact and …" he was not convincing anyone. Somehow Wufei knew that, should Heero walk out the door, they might never see him again. Heero was extremely good at remaining undetected.

"We do need you," he said softly. "When I picked up your buster gun in the final battle, I gave it to you instead of using it myself, because I knew you could shoot down Libra before it reached Earth. When I told the others I gave you your weapon they all withdrew. I believed in you then and …and while Quatre might keep us together, it's you who give us the confidence to keep on fighting."

Finally, he pulled Heero forward and hugged him hard, crushing the unyielding body against his, the way Quatre and Duo seemed to do at unexpected moments. Of course, hugging Heero was like hugging Wing, all planes and angles. "You do whatever you want," Wufei said in exasperation as he turned around and retrieved his sword. "I'm not…" He stopped, his back to Heero "…going to stop you if you really need to go but it's a group decision. Wait until the five of us are together before you do something drastic." He went to his room and closed the door firmly behind him.

He kept the sword on the ledge over the headboard and lay back, crossing his arms across his chest. He closed his eyes, listening carefully to find out whether Heero was going back in or walking out into the darkness. His eyes started to close slowly, body relaxing as he waited.

Like any old, large house, this, too, was full of odd noises, which seemed louder at night; staircases creaked, doors seemed to close, and Duo had once said that if you listened closely enough, you could hear the footsteps of people who lived there long ago. He had been in the house long enough to learn to filter out those noises… when an unexpected sound right next to his ear made him jerk awake. Even as he sat up, Wufei reached for the sword over the headboard (no, he couldn't sleep with it under his pillow); his fingers met air instead.

Before he could fall into full defense mode, the intruder spoke.

"It's me," Heero said and switched on the dim table lamp.

"Yuy," said Wufei as he relaxed even as he saw his sword had been kept aside by Heero. "So, you've decided to stay."

"Would you have sex with me?" Heero asked casually, almost conversationally as he placed a tube of something in the side table. Under the weak yellow light, it showed up pale green, with no label.

"I don't know how," Wufei said stunned. "I mean, no!"

"I'll tell you how," Heero said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Yuy," said Wufei. "Heero… no, sex isn't going to help us here. You are delusional. Go eat something instead. You missed dinner."

"I hate beans," Heero said placidly as he started to unbutton his shirt.

"I didn't know you had preferences where food was concerned," Wufei said stupidly as the shirt fell to the floor, revealing a hairless chest, scarred and pitted. One shallow cut, Wufei saw, had almost bisected Heero's left nipple, the sight of which made him… hard.

"I have many preferences," Heero said as he started to undo the top button of his jeans. Wufei could feel his jaw drop as his eyes remained fixed on Heero's chest. So he was fascinated with male chests…as Duo would say, duh. But Heero seemed to misinterpret his stare and stopped the process of unzipping his denim. "Should I put the shirt back on?" he asked.

"Uh" Wufei asked, still trying to process the situation. He had never been this slow in a battle either.

"Does the sight of my scars disturb you?" Heero asked in a reasonable voice. "I know it isn't a pleasant sight."

"Duo told me my back looks like something left over from a lion's meal," Wufei offered then snapped his mouth shut. Had he just told Heero he didn't find him unsightly?

Heero apparently took it as an agreement since he took off his jeans and put them aside, then climbed onto Wufei's bed, naked. Wufei was still trying to get past the 'no underwear' stage of undressing by the time Heero was flat on his back, on the bed. Wufei opened his mouth to tell Heero to get off his bed and get dressed, despite the absurdity of the situation since he hadn't tried to push the dark haired boy out while he was undressing.

"Sometimes it's not the words that matter," Heero said softly, as if reading Wufei's mind. "Actions speak louder than words. We all pay lip service to peace but we never seem to have it. It's an endless battle with pauses in-between so we can reload our weapons. I'm a weapon Wufei but sometimes, even weapons feel or want to feel. And sometimes, the only way to feel is by self-destructing." He held out his hand, palm up, face calm. "Make me feel, Wufei."

"You are not a weapon," Wufei tried, though he knew he was going to have sex with Heero after listening to that speech. "And you said it yourself. People out there need us, so no self-destructing." '_And, I'm with Duo and when he finds out about this he's either going to kill me or kill himself_.'

He could remember the dark purple eyes of Duo, looking at his trustingly and how angry he been when he had mentioned Heero kissing him but now…Wufei briefly shut his eyes and shook his head. Perhaps having sex with Heero could be considered the same as servicing a gundam, a chore that had to be done to keep a machine working smoothly. But he knew he couldn't pass it off as if that was all there was to it. Heero fascinated him and now the offer has been made, he would devote all his attention to it. Wufei had always thought of himself as removed from emotions such as pity and sympathy; things that dragged you down. He also thought himself to be lacking the baser emotions, which drove people to lie and act like animals, such as greed and lust. But seeing Heero lying there like an offering, he knew he wanted the other boy.

The intensity of his feelings was shocking. He knew he wanted Duo and always would; the braided boy was warmth and laughter; those feelings would not die. But he wanted Heero as well and, most importantly, Heero was there, naked, accompanied by lube, while Duo was carousing in the desert with his friend.

He picked up the tube and looked at Heero. "Who's going to do who?"

"You can top," Heero said with a shrug. "It's easier first time around, just as long as I can see you face. Don't ask me to turn over and don't try to close my eyes or anything in that line of suggestions."

"Yuy," said Wufei as he remembered his and Duo's disastrous attempt, then even further back, his first time with Meiran, which had been almost funny…if it hadn't been for the fact they were both extremely young and she had bled a lot afterwards. "I don't know what to do." Now he was starting to wish he'd taken up Quatre's offer to watch porn instead of bolting out of the room.

"I'll instruct you," Heero told him, and Wufei felt about as reassured as someone being told to land a gundam on a pin head.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

Duo was titling back his chair, curious to see how far he could swing before he either hit the wall or the chair protested. There was no one in the room. Quatre and his sisters having disappeared for a business meeting. He had been invited, but had pleaded out since he found it boring. Who wanted to know what share index fell where and why? On the top of it all, if Jane treated Quatre as if he was ten years old, she treated Duo as if he was five. Iria hadn't even glanced at any of the Magnacs, let alone Rashid, and the third sister had been an unexpected addition. Camilla was older than Jane, married with three kids, of whom she showed 3-D holograms to anyone interested …and to some who were not that interested, in seen them.

But he was bored. The meeting was long and the people treated him with awed respect, which made him uneasy. He did not deserve the fawning looks those young girls were giving him and he felt out of place without his friend in tow. So he was back to hiding in his room, wondering what Wufei was up to. When his com-link buzzed, he was on his feet in an instant, hoping for a mission, even if his gundam was somewhere on the other side of the world.

When he switched on the vid-screen, he blinked. "Trowa," he said. "Why are you in OZ uniform?"

"It's just the colors," Trowa said, and Duo noted that though the uniform colors were the same, Trowa was not wearing any rank strips or anything to identify the military unit it belonged to. The boots he wore were not OZ uniform either, just what he wore on outdoor hikes, and there was a …

"You have a pair of handcuffs attached to your belt," Duo informed Trowa. "What are you up to, bondage?"

"Lady Une has a mission for me," Trowa answered placidly. "She wanted me to look official and this is the closest I can get." He fingered the handcuffs. "These come with the uniform."

"She's going to have to design a new uniform," Duo said taking in the OZ colors. "No one likes to see those around here."

"Tell me about it," Trowa said with a grimace. "But I need the people I'm going to see to recognize this even without the rank."

"Where are you now?" Duo asked.

"Still on Earth but I'm leaving for space soon," Trowa offered. "Just recalibrating Heavyarms for space battle, just in case."

"Oh," said Duo when he realized why Trowa might have called. "Oh, sorry man. Let me call Quatre. He's in a meeting with his sisters but he'll be glad to talk to you."

"No," said Trowa hurriedly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"Me?" said Duo puzzled.

"I'm going to the circus once the mission is over," Trowa said. "For a brief visit, not to stay." He added before Duo could ask. "I just thought you might have a message for Hilde, since Catherine and the rest are performing on L2."

"You mean, you'd drop in to see her for me?" Duo asked feeling pleased. "Just tell her I said 'hi' and that I'm doing fine and see how she's managing the Scarp Yard."

"I'll do that," Trowa said.

After a few awkward goodbyes, something they were all rubbish at, Duo switched off the link when he remembered something. With Trowa out on a mission, Heero and Wufei were in the mansion alone.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

Quatre was correct; it was easier with females. "You want me to put my finger i/ _in /i _ there!?" Wufei exclaimed. "Yuy, that's disgusting."

Heero looked faintly amused. "I have cleaned myself but never mind. Give that to me," he said, holding out a hand for the lube. "I'll do it." Wufei gulped visibly and gave in. "In the mean time you might want to take off your clothes and get back onto bed," Heero added. Wufei jerked out of his pants and top without pausing to think about it. If he thought too much, he might never get over with it. He climbed on to bed and knelt between Heero's legs trying hard not to look at anything below the waist.

"Do you have any pillows?" Heero asked as Wufei continued to stare at a place over Heero's left shoulder.

"I got rid of them as soon as I recovered," Wufei replied. Duo had been the one who needed pillows. Wufei did not believe in physical comfort but then again, neither did Heero. "Why do you need them?"

"Come closer," Heero instructed as he took some lube to in his left hand. "I'll have to put my legs like this over your shoulders…does it bother your back?"

"Uh," Wufei grunted. "No…." He almost asked why when commonsense kicked in as Heero worked a finger into himself. He scooted closer and since they were both athletic and sixteen, the maneuver didn't strain them too much. But Wufei felt odd now that he was- well facing what he wanted to avoid looking at; he could hardly remember to breathe let alone close his eyes. "Give me the lube," he said, feeling a little guilty since he was making a fine mess of things.

Heero did not reply, adding another finger and Wufei tried hard to control himself. He was hard and part of his body suggested he substitute part of him in place of Heero's fingers. He tried to relax, brought up his left hand and circled Heero's ankle, which was close to his cheek. Heero stopped his activity, stilling as he felt Wufei's touch. Wufei sighed and started to feel down the leg, over the firm calf muscle and finally reached the thigh.

"I'm ready," Heero said as he closed his hand over Wufei's erection positioning it to his entrance. Wufei gasped, tensed and pushed in, guided firmly by Heero's right hand. Heero was tight and warm and …his hips thrust forwards before he could stop himself. He knew he should hold back a little, give Heero time to adjust, when Heero's legs slid off his shoulders and gripped him around his waist. Those leg muscles he'd studied a few seconds earlier clenched hard and he was pulled into the willing body.

By then, it was too late to fight and Wufei gave in, his hips moving in rhythm with the 01 pilot's. He supported his upper body on one hand while he touched Heero's nipples and scared chest with the other. Leaning down, he mouthed the bisected nipple, which had enticed him from the moment he had seen it, ignoring the pain as one of his barely healed scars tore open and fresh blood started to trickle down his back. He continued to thrust. Drops of warm, red liquid dribbled down his ribcage and onto Heero's stomach, mixing with his come when they both reached climax a few minutes later.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11--

In the morning, Wufei rolled off his bed, wincing as his back pulled, and picked up his sword from the side table. Then he abruptly froze.

"The bastard," he swore softly.

He remembered having heard Heero move in the i _outer room_ /i while he had not even heard a whisper when he had walked into emph _Wufei's bedroom /_emph and removed the sword from over his head.

Heero Yuy had wanted to be stopped.

A/N- I had fun writing this, even having Wufei do house work. Now what do I do with Duo, damn.

Seriously, most authors have fav characters and ones they find hard ot write. In my case it's Heero. He's the most complex character in the series, running alongside Triaze and to put him as a emotionally stunted idiot or a preprogrammed bot never suited me. So my interpretation Heero gets messed up once in a while. I can't give him screen time without writing three chapters about him alone.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N- I try to minimize new characters by calling them 'this man' and 'that man'. Let me know if it's a regular pain. I do like the g girls a lot and try not be bitchy with them. But seriously…how many here actually like Relena?

Chapter 14

The circus was the same; the smell of animals, (carefully masked by air filters during performances), the people strangely normal outside their colorful 'working' clothes. Trowa stood on the outskirts, watching the people get ready for the performance, hoping to catch sight of the dark brown hair of Catharine. He nervously fingered the khaki trousers hoping no one would recognize it was an OZ uniform. The shirt was covered by a leather jacket but he hadn't brought a change of clothes with him and he was starting to regret it.

"Trowa!" The voice was home as far as he was concerned. He turned around and smiled as she came running out of a trailer, her hair steaming in the wind. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked as she hugged him.

"I wasn't sure how long it would take for me to wrap things up," he said, burying his face in her shoulder. Her hair was longer but other than that, there was no real difference. "It's just a short visit," he added before she could plan for an extended stay. "I'm leaving in a couple of days."

"But at least you remembered your sister," she said as he stood, feeling awkward. "That counts for something. Come in, there's so much I want to talk to you about."

"So do I," Trowa said before he could help it as he followed her closely.

"What is it?" she asked, pulling back and look up at him. "You look troubled."

"Nothing," he said, trying to retrace his steps. "Just forget I said it."

"You don't look too happy," she observed. "I'm your sister, you can tell me anything."

For some reason, it only made a lump form in his throat and all of a sudden he wanted to cry, as she led him into the camper. At least when he'd had amnesia, he had had the right to close his eyes and let Cathy take care of everything for him.

He had not expected Heero to be hurt when he'd told him they were through. Not that he had exactly asked why or even shown any outward emotions, but the sight of those blue eyes widening in surprise and hurt, the way he'd looked as Trowa had walked out the hangar, had been enough. It had come unexpectedly. He had thought Heero treated the arrangement between them the same way he did; as a causal interlude before moving on.

True, it had lasted for almost one year and they had been exclusive…so maybe Heero had been right to read more into it than a causal fuck, and Trowa had been the insensitive one. He was the one without the feelings, not Heero, it would seem. Even though Heero had harped on about emotional detachment he had still been attached to Trowa on some level. Still, he didn't think Heero was in love with him or anything; that wasn't the reason why he broke it up, though. He just hadn't been able to take it anymore, Quatre's hurt look when the blond thought no one was looking; he could always hear an echo of Quatre in his head, almost as if their brain cells were interconnected . And then there were Duo's accusations and glares and Wufei's constant prodding. Who'd have thought Wufei would care two hoots about anyone's feelings, let alone play the matchmaker.

So he'd broken it off, to put it mildly, and Heero hadn't seen it coming. The guy could see an ambush a light-year away but couldn't see understand human relations unless it shot him with a nuclear missile. Still, Trowa had messed up big time and run away; leaving Wufei to mop up the leftovers, if that was possible. Then in one of his most idiotic moves, he'd called Quatre. To say what, he didn't know. He didn't think he was the best person to be with, for the blond and saying '_I told Heero I thought it was time we stopped fucking_' was not the best start up for a conversation. Luckily, Duo had answered and he'd been able to wriggle out of it, though that meant a visit to Hilde.

He could live with that; he respected her because of the danger Hilde had put herself into to bring vital data for them. He would drop in on her later in the day and maybe, he'd take Cathy with her. It would do her some good to get to know some people outside the circus.

"So," said Cathy as she handed over a cup of coffee. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not …I'm making a mess of things," he said as he sat on the camp bed, his elbows on his knees, palms supporting his head. He looked up, took the mug and held it close to his chest.

"Trowa," she said softly, abandoning her mug in favor of sitting next to him and putting hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me."

"I…hurt someone," he said softly. "Someone I cared about…maybe more than one person. Thought he was…" he stopped wondering how he was supposed to explain the whole concept to her. "…like me." He finished lamely.

"It had to be one of those boys you always brought back with you here," Catherine said, perceptively. "Which one was it?"

"It doesn't matter," he said dully.

"Was it the one who made you want to self-destruct?" Catherine asked, her voice laced with contempt. "I never liked him very much."

"You don't like any of them," Trowa said with a faint smile.

"The one with long hair was too noisy but that quiet one with black hair was nice," she said with a shrug. "He didn't do anything much but ate everything I put in front of him."

"I'll tell Wufei the next time see him," Trowa said with his lips twitching as he tried to imagine how things would have turned out if Wufei had not been shocked into silence by his failed assassination of Traize at the time. Had he been his raving self, maybe Catherine would have treated him differently.

"It's that blond boy I really can't stand," Catherine said, startling him enough to look up at her. "He took you away from me."

"Cathy," he said softly. "I…"

"I'm being selfish, aren't I?" she said with a wry grin. "I see so little of you and when I do, it's to find out you are hurting inside. Do you have to go back?"

He couldn't answer that. He would be safer in the circus in his clown make-up, hiding from the world. He opened his mouth to say something when she held up her hands. "You can't hide here though. You have to face what you've done no matter how small because otherwise it'll follow you around forever."

He looked at her and smiled, took a sip of coffee -- and spit it out just as quickly. The only person who could stomach Cathy's brew with a straight face was Wufei and maybe he did deserve a medal for that. "Fine," he said. "I can't say here too long," he said remembering Heavyarms in the former OZ carrier on its way to Earth. "Trouble seems to follow me around."

"That was good coffee," Cathy pouted. "You have no idea how hard it is to find that stuff here."

"It tastes like…" Trowa hesitated. i _'lion piss mixed with elephant dung' /i _"…something died in it."

"Want to tell me exactly what is wrong between you and your friends?" Cathy asked more seriously. Trowa saw that she was not even attempting to stomach her own coffee.

"I don't know how to handle people," Trowa said softly. "I keep hurting them and …and…I think I like someone but he…" There, how was he going to tell his 'sister' he liked a male, even if she really wasn't his sister? He cringed as he thought of what Catherine would say or do. It wasn't as easy as it had been when he had been alone, when the only opinion that mattered had been his own.

"It's a boy that you like." The sentence was not a question.

"Yes."

"Is it the blond?" more quietly now.

"Yes, but…"

"Should I hunt him down for hurting you?"

"No!" said Trowa before he realized Cathy was smiling at him. Really smiling. She got up, walked to the door and stopped then, turning around threw, one of her knives at him. Trowa reacted instantly, ducking even before he realized it was never meant to hit him, just fly over his left shoulder. He looked up shaken to see his 'sister' smiling widely.

"I have to thank him for making you want to live," she said. "A year ago you wouldn't have ducked."

"Cathy," Trowa said, getting to his feet.

"I have to get ready now," she said. "We'll talk when I'm finished but remember this; you have to face things eventually."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111--

By mid-morning, Heero had bandaged Wufei's back carefully and served him breakfast without uttering a word. Wufei ate the toast in silence wondering how he was going to face Duo when he came back with Quatre. He was extremely fond of the long haired boy but he did not want to hurt Heero either. Especially since Heero seemed to be making a point of being around him.

Not that Heero, all of a sudden, turned from the silent, brooding guy to a clingy limpet overnight, but he did behave a little differently. The same way he had behaved with Trowa. Wufei would have to be blind not to see that Trowa had been paired up with Heero as his partner in most of the missions they had gone on, and Heero had chosen to stay closer to Trowa than any of them. Now all that attention seemed to have been transferred to Wufei, much to his dismay. Wufei had tried to bring up the subject of Trowa several times but was met with silence so had given up eventually.

He thought of a couple of ways of getting out of this predicament. Amnesia, disappearing, telling Duo he had been hypnotized into sleeping with Heero… the excuses he could think of grew to be more and more farfetched and he had started to snicker at his own improbable scenarios. However, there was no going back and he had behaved disrespectfully, giving into the baser needs of his body. He had behaved like an animal and there was no excuse for it. In the morning, he'd come up with a half a dozen of ways in which he could have persuaded Heero to stay which did not include sex. The bottom line was, he had wanted Heero and when he had made an offer, Wufei had taken it.

He called Duo by mid-morning, intent on coming clean with him and then moving on. Perhaps leaving their fragile friendship before he fractured it beyond repair. He'd even gone as far as to pack his bag when he realized that, should he leave, Heero would be left alone, and that was no better than what Trowa had done. He didn't know what to do; in the end he was going to end up hurting both Heero and Duo.

The person who answered Quatre's com was a stern looking female with her blond hair tied in a top knot. He immediately adopted a defensive stance he used when facing a female and demanded for Duo. A large part of his almost legendry contempt for females came from there; not because he thought they were inferior but because he found them mysterious creatures, and the only way he knew to deal with them was by showing dislike. He had seen a sum total of five females during his training period as a child; his mother, his aging aunt, a servant who had looked after him and acted as his nanny, his master's wife, and her elderly mother.

Then at the age of fourteen, he was thrust into the arms of a fiery girl who was nothing like any of the submissive, older women he had known before and was told that she was his wife. And he had tried to measure up to her all his life while trying to understand women who had neither the softness of his mother and the submissiveness of his master's wife and nor the passion of Merian.

Duo answered the vid looking flushed as if he had been running. "Wufei," he said smiling delighted when he saw the Chinese boy. "How are you?"

Wufei found, to his consternation, that he could not answer the question because he was staring at Duo. Until that moment he had not been aware of how much he'd missed his boyfriend. He had missed the way Duo was in constant motion, his sense of humor and his unexpected wit. "I missed you," he blurted out, uncharacteristically, wishing Duo had never gone. It had been a mistake to let him go. He wanted to smell the long braid and feel those arms around him.

"I missed you too," Duo said smiling. "But you won't believe how busy we've been here. And guess what, Quatre's sister said she'd…" he stopped, looked over Wufei's shoulder just as a hand closed around his bicep. Wufei looked down to see Heero's hand clamped hard across his hand.

"Heero," he said weakly.

"I was looking for you," Heero said in his nasal voice. "I wanted to know if you'd like to burrow my laptop since yours seem to be defective."

Wufei did a double take at that since Heero Yuy and his laptop were never parted and no one ever put hand on it unless they had a death wish. And when he looked up at the screen Duo was looking at the two of them in a combination of resignation, disbelief and anger.

"Yuy," said Wufei, slightly annoyed at the interruption. "I'm a little busy here. I'd like to speak to Duo… alone."

Heero remained still for a moment, then turned around abruptly, leaving the room as silently as he had arrived. His shoulders were rigid with tension but he was far too much in control of himself to slam the door on his way out. For a moment, Wufei watched his retreating back before turning around to face Duo.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Duo demanded as he looked Wufei straight in the eye.

"I have some explaining to do," Wufei said weakly.

"Really," said Duo coldly.

Duo must have been broadcasting his agitation since a few seconds later, Quatre walked into view, frowning. "Wufei," he greeted the other boy and rested his hand on Duo's shoulder. "What's wrong? Has anything happened to Trowa on the mission?"

"You wish," Duo snarled as he pushed back and got up from his chair. "I think this conversation is over."

"Duo!" Wufei sounded stricken, even to himself but he was speaking to Quatre who was the only one present.

Quatre said with unexpected fierceness. "What did you do to hurt him like that?"

"I didn't mean to," Wufei answered dully. "I…" he pushed a hand over his brow. "I have behaved in a despicable manner and betrayed everyone's trust. I should not have called."

"Are you going to do a disappearing act?" Quatre asked dryly. "Or fall on one of your swords? Duo and I are returning the day after tomorrow. Think you can stay until we come back?"

"Yes," Wufei said as he looked down at his hands. He didn't think he could leave Heero any more than he could break away from Duo.

"Be there," Quatre ordered before abruptly switching off leaving him facing a blank screen.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

"So," said Cathy as she ran a hand over her blue jeans. "Who's this friend of yours I'm going to meet. Should I have dressed up?"

"For Hilde?" said Trowa, amused by the way she was trying to brush back her hair. "Hardly that sort of friend and I don't think she'd really care. She used to pilot a mobile suit for OZ before she changed sides. Helped us get some data on Libra which was invaluable."

"So what's she doing in this part of L2?" Cathy asked as the continued to stroll down the road, leading towards the lower realms of the colony. The lower parts were mainly the older constructions, built when the colony was first formed. Once the outer parts were finished those who could afford had moved up leaving the poor behind.

"She runs Duo's scarp yard while he's away" Trowa explained.

"That's not exactly a woman's job," Cathy said.

"Throwing knives at people is?" teased Trowa as they rounded a corner and came to the junk yard district. Streets were lined with scarp metal and discarded machine parts. Children of various ages ran around, falling over each other as they played a game of tag. They both paused so a little girl with pig tails was chased by a slightly older girl with longer hair

"Where exactly is this place?" Cathy asked, looking around. The piles of junk seemed to have cut off the artificial sun and the streets were not as well maintained as they were in the upper levels.

"The second block from here," said Trowa as they walked on, his hands in his pockets. He could see a couple of men from an adjoining junk yard studying the two of them through mesh fence. The fence was meant to hold the junk away from the road but most likely supported the heaps so they wouldn't all fall over. The men didn't look all too friendly and were eyeing them as if they were prey. Trowa had a feeling that some of the 'junk' hadn't joined the heaps voluntarily.

Cathy shivered and moved closer to him. After years as a performer, she could read people as well as he could. "I hope your friend is there," she said in a low voice. "I don't like these people. And why are all these kids running around? Don't they have anywhere else to go and play at?"

"They're street kids," Trowa said. "They don't have a home to go off to."

They arrived at their destination a few minutes later in silence, each submerged in their own thought. "Is this it?" Cathy asked as she looked at the yard, which was deserted.

"She must be in the office," said Trowa as he climbed up a couple of planks nailed together to form a flight of steps. He mounted quickly and knocked on the door of the shack that served as an office. When no one answered the door he gave it a push, which caused it to swing inwards and walked in.

"Maybe she went out," Cathy said from the bottom of the staircase. "Let's wait for her outside."

"I don't know," said Trowa warily. "This isn't the sort of place where you leave your door unlocked."

He walked into the semi-darkness and waited for his eyes to adjust. He took two steps forward, letting the door swing shut behind him, and almost walked into Hilde, who had a big gun pointed at his chest.

"Trowa," she said, her voice laced with relief as she lowered her gun.

Trowa raised his hands in a classic gesture of surrender and waited.

"Oh, put down your hands," she snapped, holstering her gun. "I'm not going to shoot you. I thought you were someone else."

"Who were you expecting?" he asked as he lowered his hands carefully.

"No one you'd want to meet," Hilde said with a grimace as she walked around to Trowa. "Did Duo come with you?"

"No," said Trowa as he moved to open the door. "But my sister did and she's outside." He looked out to tell Cathy to come up and stopped when he realized she was not alone. Cathy was standing exactly where he had left her but now she was surrounded by the three men who had been watching them as they had walked down the road. And they didn't look as if they'd come to buy discarded oven parts. "_This_ is the trouble you were expecting?" he asked with a calmness he did not feel.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111---

"Let her go," snapped Hilde, leveling her gun at the men firmly. For a moment the men faltered and then shrugged, letting Catharine walk up the steps into the office.

"We weren't holding her," one of the men leered. "Thought we'll keep her entertained while you and the boy there were having some quality time together." Apparently their sense of humor was very light since it made them all laugh uproariously while Hilde slammed the door loudly.

"Who are those people?" Catherine inquired, looking a little shaken but not scared. She met all kinds of people in her line of work and it took more than three morons to make her cry.

"They are the former White Fang," Hilde said in disgust as she holstered her gun for the second time. "They have a grudge against Duo since he refused to side with them and the only way they can take it out is by pushing me out of business."

"But I thought White Fang is no more," Cathy said as she sat down on a rickety chairs without being invited.

"They just need an excuse to push me out of here," Hilde explained, going over to the counter and picking up a bottle. She poured its contents into three glasses and took one in either hand. "They were bullies before White Fang recruited them and they are bullies now. Nothing's changed."

"Isn't there anyone you can call for help?" Trowa asked as he took the offered glass, one with a chipped rim, and nodded his thank you. "There has to be some law and order here."

"On L2, law belongs to those who pay for it," Hilde snapped as Cathy took the second glass and sipped it without missing a beat. Trowa gave her points mentally guts and followed his sisters' example. He didn't think Hilde would poison them or give them anything disgusting but years of living in constant battle had its drawbacks.

"What do they do?" Trowa asked. "Apart from show up at the office and make bad jokes."

"All my potential customers have to come past then," Hilde explained, downing her glass in one gulp. Since Trowa had found out it contained only lemon juice he was not impressed. "They probably thought you were customers right now and came to scare you away. They're always like that, my last two orders didn't get here at all and I even paid an installment for it. This is getting way over my head."

"What have you done about it?" Cathy asked. "Surely, you aren't going to give up on this."

"Oh, no," Hilde snapped. "This might not be the best business but Duo is counting on me to stick it out and keep an eye out on the kids out there, and if I'm not here, who will?"

"We only came for a visit," Trowa said apologetically, guilty at the predicament Duo's friend was in. "I don't think we can stay long."

"Oh," said Hilde with a small smile and with that ridiculous barrette she wore, managed to look extremely young. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners, Trowa? You haven't even introduced me to your sister properly and here I am whining about my problems."

"That's perfectly alright," said Cathy getting up gracefully. "I'm Catherine Bloom, Trowa's sister. You must be the Hilde, I've heard so much about." She even managed to sound convincing though Trowa knew the only time he had mentioned Hilde at all had been in about two sentences as they were walking towards the junk yard.

"Hope what you heard wasn't all bad?" Hilde said looking pleased and Catherine smiled.

"Former OZ mobile suit pilot," Catherine said without missing a beat. "Invaluable to winning the war. What more is there to say?"

"I like your sister," Hilde said to Trowa with a wink that made Trowa wonder which way Hilde swung. Before he could speculate though someone banged on the door loudly, making them all jump.

"Expecting anyone?" Trowa asked as he moved out of direct line of fire from the door.

"I sent a message to the sweepers through a contact number Duo left but I don't think they'll be getting here any time soon," Hilde said, biting her lower lip. "Looks like you got here at a bad time. I'm sorry, I'm not much of a host, am I?"

"It certainly is exciting," Cathy said dryly as she moved out of the way and Trowa fought the urge to pull her behind him. The walls of the office were paper thin ply wood boards that would not stop a bullet coming through, come to think of it, perhaps not even Cathy's knife.

"Stay here," said Hilde as she jerked open the door in a single move to face who ever was outside.

"Good day, miss," said the man outside, a non-descriptive type with a face like a sewer rat. He was small made, and better dressed than the men before.

"What do you want?" Hilde demanded and Trowa did not think he was a customer.

"I heard you got a couple of visitors," the man said. "Do they know you haven't paid for your last shipment…?"

"Which I never got," Hilde snarled. "Get out while you can or…"

"Or what?" the man was far too confidant for his own good.

"I'll shoot you," Hilde said but her voice didn't sound too confident. She wasn't a killer and even the man knew it.

"Just pack your things and leave," the man said as he looked over Hilde's shoulder at Catherine. "I saw your act on Tuesday miss," he said, speaking to Catherine. "Wonderful…simply stunning." Which was as far his praise would go before he was all business again. "If the circus needs supplies, I suggest you come to my place, just down the road. Much nicer there and the prices are more affordable. Don't know who recommended this place to you but let me tell you…"

"Why don't you just go?" Trowa said moving over to Hilde's side. "What we do here is our business."

"You kids have no idea who you're messing with," the man said as the ground began to shake under their feet.

"What the hell is that?" demanded Hilde, brushing aside the man and rushing outside. Trowa grabbed Catherine firmly by the hand and dragged her out since the building they were in wasn't all too steady. And blanched. There was huge earth crusher, used to shift scrap metal in the junk yards rushing towards them in the distance.

"Is that yours by any chance?" Trowa asked as the vehicle came roaring down the street causing the piles of junk to tremble.

"You are kidding, right?" snapped Hilde. "I can't afford to rent one of those for an hour, let alone own one."

"Just taking back some of what is mine," the rat-man said smoothly. "You should remember, you are borrowing space off my part of the town and I can take it back when ever I want."

"I'm not on your turf," Hilde shouted back, over the increasing roar of the machine. "This was part of the Maxwell Church holdings and…"

"Now I own them," the rat-man finished as the huge machine crashed through the wire fence.

"Damn," swore Hilde, angrily. "It's going to take me a week to put that back up."

"You won't be here that long," the annoying man threatened. "It's that shack of yours next and then we'll see."

"Want to bet?" Hilde shot back even as she brought out her gun and pointed it at the man."

"Do you have license for carrying firearms?" the man asked.

"I don't need one," Hilde said fuming in anger as she motioned towards Cathy. "Take your brother and go while I…" Both women looked towards where Trowa had been standing, only to find out that he was gone. "Where did he go?" she asked.

They both turned as one when Trowa appeared on to the left as he vaulted gracefully from one scrap heap to the other heap, before reaching the roof of the earth mover. He leapt, twisting in mid air, caught the bar above the drivers' seat and kicked the driver off the vehicle. The driver flew out the seat and fell on to the ground in a heap.

Trowa switched off the engine and jumped down lightly to land in front of the man, keys in his hand.

"Why you…" the rat- man said, even as he reached into his inner pocket only to stop when a throwing knife hit the ground squarely between his feet.

"If you've watched my show you should know I don't miss," Cathy said in a cold voice as another knife appeared in her palm.

"There's just the two of you but so many of us," the man snarled even as burly men started showing up all around them. "This isn't your home turf, this is ours and you are outnumbered."

"Well then, it's time we evened the odds," said a familiar voice and Trowa stared as a scrawny old man, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, in a pair of oversized shorts and a Hawaiian shirt came strolling into the yard as if he owned the place.

"Howard," the rat-man, who had been loud mouthed and blustering a few minutes ago turned three shades paler. "I thought the Sweepers weren't in this sector of space for a while."

"Well," said Howard as he paused. "We are now and you'd better leave the girl alone if you know what's good for you."

The man grunted with displeasure but his bravado was gone. No one ever crossed the Sweepers if they knew what was good for them.

"Don't you have something to do, Trowa?" Howard prodded.

Trowa looked at him blankly before he thought of something, smiled and took off his leather jacket. "I'm arresting you," he said with a secret grin. "In the name of Lady Une." And snapped his handcuffs on the annoying man's wrists.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1--

"Lady Une!" hooted Howard as he drove his car through the narrow roads. "In the name of Lady Une!"

"It as the best I could think of," Trowa said weakly, blushing in embarrassment.

"You'd better tell her and you can ask her to make it official," Howard said with a snicker. "Lady's Une's law keepers."

"All made up of nice young men …," Cathy said scathingly in manner which suggest those 'young men' were all in a g-string and holding palm leaves. "From what I've seen of her during the war, it's nothing to laugh over."

"Maybe," said Trowa, trying to find his footing.

"When are you heading for Earth, Trowa?" Howard asked. "One of my carriers is going through earth and I could arrange life for you. In fact, I could even have Sally pick you up from the Space Port and drop you at you destination."

"That'll be nice," said Trowa wondering why Sally was bothering to meet Howard's shipments personally and why Howard was sure she would do as he told her to.

a/n- I should add Hilde winked at Trowa coz she thinks Cathy is his girlfriend, not sister. Trowa just misinterprets the gesture.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"You will come and visit won't you?" Catherine asked for the fifth time as Trowa waited to board the Sweeper shuttle. One of their cargo carriers was heading for Earth, which meant Trowa would be able to get back to the mansion earlier than anticipated. Maybe about the same time as Quatre and Duo would be returning from the desert.

"I'll call at least once a week," Trowa promised. It was the best he could do.

"Good," said Cathy. "Make sure you do. I thought I might drop in on Hilde and see how she's doing, since we'll be here for some time. Not the best place but the rates are cheap and the circus could do with a little rest."

"It's not safe there even with the Sweepers watching out for Duo's yard," Trowa said hurriedly, remembering not the thugs, but the way Hilde had winked at him, when referring to her sister. He wasn't sure if he had read the meaning properly.

"It's ok," Catherine said, lightly. "George will see to it that I get an escort."

"George?" said Trowa frowning, trying to remember someone at the circus by that name. Is that the Strong man?

"Oh.," Catherine blushed slightly. "You know, the circus manager…the ring master."

Somehow imagining his sister and the ring master as a couple provided no comfort. In fact, Hilde was starting to sound better and better, yet who was he to judge? "Uh," he said, wondering what to say when the last of the Sweepers started to load the crates,. wWhich meant the shuttle was cleared for lunch and would be leaving sometime soon.

"I…have to go now," he said awkwardly. Why were good byes so hard!

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Catherine said hesitantly. "I had a brother once, your age…and well…I lost track of him the same time my…our parents died."

Trowa waited, wondering what was to come.

"I want to run a DNA test to see if you're my bother," she finished.

For a moment Trowa couldn't breath. "And if it comes back negative, will I stop being your brother?" he asked finally.

"No!" Cathy exclaimed. "That's stupid. You are my brother …but if you're my real brother, there are things you have to know. You have a name, a birthday…a…"

"I don't have that now," whispered Trowa, realizing how much that hurt. "You mean I don't have a right to be your brother in real life because…"

"I didn't mean that," Catherine said, looking stricken. "I'm handling this all wrong. I thought about this since I met you the first time and I was scared about it too. But now, Trowa, I just can't live with not knowing if you're not my brother or not. Try to understand, it doesn't change anything between us but I have to know."

"Hey, Barton, get on this crate if you want to leave," one of the Sweepers called.

"I have to go," Trowa said as he stood there, feeling numb.

"I love you," Cathy said, tears in her eyes. "You are my brother; just…this uncertainty is killing me."

"Fine," said Trowa dully taking out his boot-knife. He fisted his bang and cut off the tip of his hair. Not enough to uncover his face but just enough for it to seem shorter. He handed her the fist full of hair slowly. "Give me a call when the results come," he said as he turned around to walk up the boarding ramp.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Despite the seriousness of the situation Quatre was laughing his head off. It was not helping the circumstances, but the image Duo had created did not fit the real person at all.

"You think that's funny," fumed Duo as he stood in the middle of the room, hands on his hips, braid swinging from side to side.

"I don't think Heero goes with the bound foot concept," Quatre managed to splutter out.

Duo stopped his pacing to stare at him in confusion. "What?"

"Chinese females… I think that included concubines from noble families, had their feet bound to make them smaller. Can you imagine Heero doing that…? Where in the world did you get the idea that Wufei needs a concubine, and a male one at that? Think of the problems it would cause when a Chinese male decided to take a Japanese male as a concubine"

"He doesn't," Duo said fiercely, stopping his pacing to look around. "Oh, damn, Quatre, I know he's with Heero- fucking- Yuy, I know it."

"Then the middle name should fit," Quatre said dryly. "Just don't use such language around my sisters unless you want your mouth washed out with washing soap."

"Sorry," said Duo, having the grace to blush. "But…. I know I can't… couldn't give him what he wanted but I did ask and he said he'd wait for me; that sex wasn't important; and I thought he really would. I didn't think he'd jump Heero the moment I turned my back to him."

"We are still talking about Wufei," Quatre said cautiously. "Chinese, black hair, pilot of Altron. What do you mean, wait for you?"

"I guess this is as good a time as ever to tell you… though it's already over," Duo said resigned. "We are… were together."

"You and Wufei?" said Quatre in a stunned voice. "As in together-together, not together as all five of us? Wufei…and you are an item. A couple. A pair. In a committed relationship. Boyfriends. I thought Wufei was as straight as the proverbial flag pole up his ass."

"Yes," said Duo a little amused. "I know the idea is hard to swallow but we did decide to kiss and grope on a regular basis. But I guess it isn't so if Heero is hovering over his shoulder and acting like a dog marking his territory."

"So when did this happen and why wasn't I told? I thought we were more than two people who fight together."

"I'm sorry," said Duo. "We thought it best to keep it to ourselves until we get the corners ironed out. We got together after Wufei came back from Sally's mission so it's not been that long and we haven't exactly gotten used to it. Just that I can't do certain things and …and…"

"Sex," offered Quatre. "So that's what he wanted to speak to me about."

"Wufei wanted to speak to you about me?" Duo exclaimed. "When?"

"Just before we left," Quatre explained. "He wanted to speak about something personal about you but I told him that I'd speak with you first before I speak with him. I'm sorry I've been so busy since I got here and we haven't even had the time to talk to each other properly."

"Sheesh," said Duo. "I don't know whether I should blow my head off at him or be pleased he bothered to speak to you about it. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for the two of us but he did say he cared about me."

"There could be a perfectly good explanation," Quatre said gently. "Don't you think you are overreacting? This is Wufei we are talking about and he values his honor, always. If he is with you then I don't think he's the type to sneak around behind your back and start something with Heero. Anyone else maybe, but Wufei is someone who keeps his word."

"You think so?" said Duo looking hopeful. "But when I asked him about Heero he acted as if he was avoiding something." He paused to think for a moment. "But I didn't exactly give him a chance to talk so maybe, it's all for nothing."

"Tell you what," said Quatre. "Why don't you call him again and ask him. This not knowing is eating you up from the inside. You'll find out that it's just your imagination."

"You're right," said Duo with a small smile. "Let me call him and ask him right now."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111--

Wufei spun around trying to close the screen before whoever was behind him saw what he was looking at while he reached for his weapon. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was Heero but scowled at the other to show his displeasure.

"Yuy," he grated out. "There is such a thing called privacy you know?"

"If you are surfing for porn, I can give you a few pointers," Heero said from his position near the door frame.

"I'm not surfing for porn," Wufei grated out as he blushed crimson from nose to shoulders in one smooth move. "I'm just looking for some information since I appear to be …uninformed about…about…" spontaneous combustion was about to happen. "…gay sex." There, he said it.

Heero smirked, looking both smug and pleased. "I could show you a few things," he offered, looking at Wufei from under his bangs and managing to look suggestive with a minimum of facial expressions. It was surprising how good Heero was at hiding his emotions behind that mask of his.

"Yuy," said Wufei as he turned around, trying to collect his thoughts. "I need to speak to you about last night." There, now he was starting to sound like one of those disgusting women from Saturday night soap operas Duo and Quatre snickered over; the ones in which the female jumps into someone's bed overcome passion and then the next morning decides to pretend it never happened. He wasn't sure how the analogy fit his predicament so he clamped his erratic thoughts to a stand still and tried assess the present situation.

Heero had stilled imperceptibly and when Wufei looked up, he could see that the previous slightly relaxed look on Heero's face had been replaced by blankness. '_At least he thinks he knows what I'm going to say_,' Wufei thought to try and comfort himself. After the previous night he could not deny that Heero had feelings. If he said it had all been one big mistake then the other boy was bound to wind up hurt. Or whatever was equivalent to hurt in the universe of Heero Yuy. However, before he could form a proper reply the vid- communicator chirped and they both moved as one towards it. Heero was the first to reach it, snapping it on and staring into the screen.

"Duo," he said slowly. "I thought you spoke to Wufei just now. Is something wrong?"

"Hey, Heero," said Duo, and it was obvious he was taking pains to be polite when it was the last thing he wanted to do. "Can I speak to Wufei, alone?"

"Why?" Heero demanded uncharacteristically, scowling hard.

"'Cause I say so," Duo snapped back. "Don't you have a gun barrel to grease or something? Go away, Heero. Where's Wufei?"

"I'm here, Maxwell," said Wufei falling into the chair in front of the vid-screen before Heero could react. He winced as his back jarred and looked at Heero. "I'll let you know if it's anything important," he told Heero and the other boy nodded.

"I'll be in your room," Heero said as he turned around abruptly and walked away, leaving Wufei face the screen with a more visible wince.

"Your room," said Duo coldly. "Why is he going to your room?"

"I didn't ask," Wufei said weakly wishing he was elsewhere.

"Why does your back hurt?" Duo pressed. "I saw you wince when you sat down"

"I strained it last night," Wufei stuttered weakly.

"Fucking Heero Yuy, perhaps?" Duo snarled across the screen his eyes flashing.

"Yes," Wufei said, weakly looking away. He needed to cut his finger nails; and where did he get that scratch on his left thumb. His hands were starting become more fascinating by the minute and he did not want to look up see the hurt in the violet eyes.

"So you really didn't miss me, did you?" Duo snapped as he looked away and Wufei could see a gleam of tears in his eyes. "I guess I wasn't good enough for you, huh?"

"Duo," said Wufei leaning forward, hand outstretched only to stop a few millimeters away from the screen. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I do like you, just that last night after Trowa left…"

"Heero suddenly became available," Duo spat out. "I thought you were better than this, 'Fei. I thought you really cared for me." Then abruptly, he was staring at a blank screen.

He thought about calling Duo back but he didn't know what to say and he knew the other boy was too distressed to think properly. Words spoken in anger were always hurtful and uncalled for. He would try to rectify the situation, first of all by talking to his… his lover who was waiting for him in his bedroom. About his boyfriend. Right.

Wufei got up, heading towards his room, wondering how he was ever going to fix things with Duo. He was going to tell Heero that it had all been nice, but still a mistake and…

Heero was on his bed, dressed in shorts and nothing else, leaning against a pillow, reading one of his books.

"I didn't know you read German," he said in surprise.

"I didn't know you did either," Heero said, looking up.

"Yuy," said Wufei carefully. "This isn't …" _going to work. I'm not going to have sex with you again. _Heero proceeded to put down the book and hooked two of his fingers into his waistband. This was going to be harder than he'd first imagined. "I don't want to have sex with you," he blurted out. There, he'd said it. Even if Duo came back and killed him on the spot, he was going to die with honor.

Heero stilled then slowly got off the bed, face blank. He picked up his tank top off the side table and put it onwith quick, jerky movements. Then he scooped up his shoes from the side of the room and proceeded to put them on, balancing on one leg. Then the unthinkable happened; Heero almost lost his balance and had to stagger before he put his leg down and looked straight at Wufei.

Wufei froze at the pain visible in those eyes. He was making a huge mess of it but he couldn't kick Heero while he was down. Heero looked so vulnerable and uncertain for a moment and he didn't know what to do. He took a step forward and then another until he was standing in front of to Heero. "I…" he put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "I don't think I'm handling this right," he said weakly.

"Do you want me to stay?" Heero asked slowly.

"I think the bed is big enough for the two of us," Wufei said weakly, when he had turned into a worm without a spine. He was weak if he was so undecided but he didn't want Heero to go. He wanted Duo but he didn't want to hurt Heero in the process. He stepped back, and started to undress carefully, taking off his white top and then his shoes. He decided to keep his pants on and got into bed, his legs feeling strangely shaky, He rolled aside so there was space for another person, and lay on his back, very still. After a moment, the bedside lamp was switched off and another slender form slipped between the covers.

In the dark, the two figures lay stiffly until they both fell asleep.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1--

Heero woke up suddenly, looking at the person next to him in bed. He had never shared a bed with anyone without having had to sex previously. Never willingly, and never slept through the night feeling safe. Wufei was moving a little, which might have been the reason he had awaken. As he tried to process the noises, Wufei turned slightly and curled around his left side. For a moment Heero stiffened then very, very carefully turned his head. The Chinese boy was still fast asleep, his hair falling over his face delicately. Slowly, Heero turned over on his side until he was facing Wufei, then with his right hand, pushed back the stray hairs.

Wufei stirred, inching closer so his breath tickled Heero's neck, but did not come awake. Heero smiled to himself, feeling pleased. Wufei was a warrior and if he could sleep with Heero moving around next to him, it meant he trusted him. Heero slowly ran a hand over Wufei's form and the boy inched closer. Encouraged, Heero stayed still, heart hammering, as the other boy burrowed closer to him. That night, Heero did not sleep for more than half an hour but it was best night sleep of his life as far as he could remember.

a/N- short chapter but I wanted to see if 1x5 would work without sex. They aren't comfortable with each other but no relationship is based on sex alone. Maybe I should try submitting this for the most pathetic Heero award. (kidding…)


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A/N- I'm assuming that if they can have Space colonies they'd at least have an inoculation for sexually transmitted diseases. But I suppose safe sex would include condoms since new strains could crop up. In a certain episode of g gundam there was a mention a virus strain from the colonies without a cure. And plague is mentions in L2 and biological warfare when destroying L5. Again, note on Duo's behavior at the bottom.

------- - - - - - - - - -

"I don't want to talk to you," Duo said pointedly as Wufei opened the door for them. Since they had not taken their gundams they, had arrived through the main entrance.

"Duo," said Wufei, firmly planting himself in front of the agitated boy, his arms crossed while Quatre staggered in with their entire luggage. Duo, in his hurry to get over with the worst, had rushed out the moment they had been dropped off, leaving Quatre to deal with everything else. "I know what I did was wrong," Wufei continued. "But at least, let me explain myself."

"Just stay away from me. I suppose it is true, all those things they say you did during the war. Did you give Treize blow jobs too?" Duo spat looking hurt. "So, where is your lover boy now? Polishing your gundam for you?"

"No, he's sorting my underwear by color," Wufei snapped back before he could help it, as Quatre just dropped a bag onto his foot. It wasn't the first time Wufei heard innuendos about him and Treize but it still hurt him that anyone could even think that.

"Ouch," said Quatre, hopping up and down on one leg, while Duo punched Wufei squarely on the jaw. Wufei rocked on his heels but didn't do anything to retaliate. They stood staring at each other until Duo got enough of it. He started to brush past him but Wufei caught him by the bicep.

"I need to talk to you, please," he said softly. "Duo, don't…"

"Just answer me one question," Duo said holding up one finger. "Did you fuck him because I couldn't do it with you… you know, sort of like keeping a concubine?"

Wufei blinked a little at the word 'concubine' but finally forced out. "It's more complicated than that, Duo. Let me just…"

"Heero," said Quatre loudly as he looked over the side door, almost like a warning, and the other two broke off. "Is Trowa back yet?"

"He's going to be here soon," said Heero blankly staring at Wufei and Duo. "Is something wrong?" he asked Wufei, avoiding Duo.

"Why should it be?" snapped Duo scowling. "Why don't you go just step out of my way like a good little wind up…bot"

"Hey," said Quatre stepping forward and catching Duo before he made the fatal error of punching Heero Yuy. "We're both a little tired from the trip. Why don't you go and get …uh…something or whatever while I talk to Duo for a moment."

"I don't want to talk to anyone," Duo said petulantly while Heero indicated that Wufei should follow him. For moment, Wufei looked at the two of them in exasperation before sighing resignedly and following Heero.

"How about a cup of tea?" Quatre offered, looking at Duo who didn't look so good once the initial anger had worn off. He looked tired, dark shadows around his eyes, and Quatre knew that he had spend most of the night before tossing and turning.

"We're almost out of sugar," Heero said, proving he had a good hearing.

"I think I'll settle for bitter coffee," Duo said, scowling at Heero. "It suits my mood."

Heero shrugged to show he was mystified by Duo's actions while Wufei wilted visibly.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

"I mean, why not?" Duo said as he sat on a chair, leaning forward, speaking forcefully. "I know you like Trowa but he's with Heero and I like Wufei and he's with Heero and unless you also want to get on the bandwagon and screw Heero…"

Quatre leaned forward from his chair next to Duo's, smiling, and placed a gentle hand on Duo's lips, stopping the flow of words. "Duo," he said. "How about some sleep and then we can discuss these things in the morning."

"But I like you," Duo pointed out. "I think you're a nice guy and I know you don't think I'm ugly and all that. There is the whole I'm a street rat and you are a multimillionaire concept but…"

"Duo," said Quatre, trying again. "We shared a sleeping bag for a month, remember? If there was anything other than friendship on either side, it would have surfaced."

"But maybe we weren't doing it right," Duo said.

"You don't want someone to be with you," Quatre pointed out. "You're looking for someone you can flaunt and rub into a certain person's face. You think I didn't feel that way with Trowa?"

"I…" Duo stopped. "But why not?" he nearly wailed. "I know Heero is all good looking and tempting but Wufei was mine. What does he have that I don't have, if it isn't just sex?"

Quatre sighed, covering his face with his palms. "I should really ask Trowa the same question," he said glumly. "And…did you just say that Heero was tempting?"

"He is, isn't he?" Duo said with a pout. "Er…I mean…compared to me that is, he must be for 'Fei to …do you think it was 'cause I sort of freaked out when he tried to have sex with me and punched him?"

"I seem to have missed that part of the conversation," said Quatre, looking slightly stunned. "Duo, let me put the kettle on and you'll have your tea or coffee and we can…"

"Quatre," said Duo, jumping to his feet. "Kiss me."

"No," said Quatre who had also gotten to his feet. "Be reasonable, you're acting like a…umph."

Quatre was bowled over by the wet and rather sloppy kiss Duo had initiated. Duo pressed against him insistently, crushing his lips against the other boy's. Quatre almost hit out before giving a mental shrug, closed his eyes, put an arm around the other's slender form and hugged him tightly. Duo pressed against Quatre hard, pushing him off balance so that both of them went over and landed on the kitchen table, then slipped and rolled to the floor, along with an assortment of bottles and mugs. For a moment, the blond lay still, his wind knocked out of him, while Duo lay on him, panting. Duo was cursing softly under his breath and laughing a little as well.

"This isn't working, is it?" he asked, burying his face in Quatre's shoulder.

"No, it's not," said Quatre, wondering if it was a fork he was lying on poking him in the butt. Duo was warm and soft on top of him and part of the long braid had wound up tangled with his wrist watch. Quatre lifted his free arm and patted Duo on the back comfortingly. "It's all right, I guess. We can still be friends. It's better that way."

"This is so embarrassing," Duo muttered, his face still buried in the crook of the other boy's neck. "Let's not mention this ever again, shall we?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea," said the L 4 pilot as he opened eyes and groaned. "Or it might be too late for that."

"What do you mean?" Duo asked, stiffening. He slowly lifted his head and turned around towards the kitchen door where the two of them was being observed by three people with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. "Oh," he said. "Hi, Trowa, how was L2?"

"Hilde sends her love," Trowa said, his eyes fixed on Quatre.

"You've spilled the last of our sugar," Heero pointed out pragmatically.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

"Duo," said Wufei as he knocked on the door. "Open the door please."

"Go away." Duo's muffled voice came through as Wufei tried the door handle. He gave the door a nudge and it swung open revealing Duo, spread-eagled on his bed, eyes closed. He opened an eye at the sound of the door and scowled. "What do you want?" He was dressed in black again, contrasting with Wufei's white pants, but no priest collar. Instead Duo was wearing black t-shirt with a wide neck.

"To apologize," Wufei said softly. "I know my behavior is inexcusable…"

"If you wanted sex you could have said so," Duo said opening both eyes. "I know it isn't easy for me but I could have done it, given the right motivation." He rolled off the bed in one smooth move and got to his feet, standing nose to nose with his (former?) boyfriend.

"I don't lie and I'm not about to start now. Let me try a different angle." He took a deep breath and looked straight at Wufei. "I know, before I left I did tell you that you should go for Heero since he's as emotional as one of those inflatable sex dolls you get. I thought you might but…" He paused to swallow, feeling, much to his horror a lump the size of a large apple lodged in his throat and had to force his words around it, hoarsely "…you said you wouldn't and I was sort of hoping you wouldn't."

"Heero was …"

"I thought I could deal with it," Duo continued. "I thought I could live with the thought of you with someone else but…" He closed his eyes and gulped. "…but I was wrong. It's eating me up. It's my fault for not being able to sleep with you but …don't…." The last word was torn out involuntarily. "…don't go to Heero again. I'm not a jealous person but I also don't want to loose what is mine."

"I didn't like the thought of you with Winner, either," Wufei confessed.

"Good," said Duo feeling slightly pleased but blushing at the memory of the disastrous kiss in the kitchen. "Just…Quatre and that incident, shall we just say it was one of those impulsive things you live to regret and not mention it ever again?"

Wufei smiled slightly at the thought. "You two did compliment each other so well, blond and brunette." He was also tempted to substitute himself in place of the blond and …

"Are you teasing me?" Duo asked with a faint smile of his own. "Don't tease, then I forget I should be angry with you. Just tell me, how is it that you jumped Heero the moment Trowa was out on a mission. Don't Trowa care or…"

"They aren't together," Wufei said, in a small voice. "Trowa broke up with Heero, if that is the right word, just be…"

"I knew it," said Duo looking slightly pleased. "If you were going to screw Heero, there was going to be a perfectly good reason for it. So, was that the only way to split those two? Isn't that a little drastic? I thought you said you wouldn't whore yourself."

"It didn't exactly…"

"But now that you've done it, great. Wait till Quatre hears about it, he's going to be so pleased …and what can I say, you did it," Duo continued. "You did give me your word you'd help and I'd say you've done more than enough…just too bad I can't keep my promise."

"What promise?" Wufei asked feeling slightly out of control.

"I said that whatever you do to help Quatre, I'll match you move for move, only …I don't think I can do it…" he looked down at his feet and signed. "I'm sorry, was it terrible…uh…with Heero?"

"No, actually…" Wufei looked at Duo looking at him with tear filled eyes, hopefully. He had enjoyed his time with Heero, it was his first time with a male and sex had been great. But he couldn't hurt Duo anymore than he already had. "He sort of gave me orders as if we were on a mission."

"You don't need to put up with him anymore," Duo said decisively, looking pleased. "You can keep him distracted so Quatre and Trowa get more time together but no need to...did you …what…with him…" Duo faltered. "Who was on top?"

Wufei blushed a brilliant shade of scarlet. "I was."

"Well," said Duo in a small voice. "I suppose me and you is sort of out of the question…I just don't like it when people climb on top of me and hold me down and press my face into the ground."

Oh," said Wufei in a small voice. "Is that what really bothered you that day, me rolling on the top of you?"

"I think so," Duo confessed. "And I knew you were stronger than me and…could hurt me. I didn't freak out when we kissed and I did sleep with Quatre without screaming blue murder. "

"I'm sorry," Wufei said, slowly. "I was unfamiliar with the concept of gay sex then but…I've been looking things over and… and I don't have any objections to you topping."

"Wu," said Duo looking at him with narrowed eyes. "You don't seem the sort of person to bottom."

"I really wouldn't know," Wufei pointed out, though his heart was beating as if he had run a mile. "If you are willing to give it a try, as you would say…"

"Uh," Duo floundered. "I've never…"

"Neither have I…"

"So how…"

"Duo, how about a kiss? I really did miss you." Perhaps he could not get out of the mess he had created but he really did miss his long haired companion. Wufei knew he was distracting Duo and he know Duo was giving in too easily. There would be hell to pay for this later on but for now, he had to do this. He liked Duo but bottoming for him was not something he wanted to do. Still, Wufei realized he did not want to loose Duo and if this was a part of the penance for cheating on his partner, then so be it.

"Heero," said Trowa as he walked the length of the sitting room towards the open French window where the shaggy-haired boy was standing. In the afternoon, the sun was behind the house, throwing the neglected garden in the front into deep shadows. In its glory days, the garden had boasted of a maze with small coves where benches made of white marble. There were such resting places through out the garden, overgrown and hidden by the overhanging vines making it a virtual jungle. The boys rarely ventured into the garden, and the perimeter-sensor Heero had installed deterred anyone who even thought of it.

"Trowa," Heero greeted him neutrally, as he looked away towards the garden.

"Is there anything in particular you are watching out for?" Trowa asked as he joined Heero at the window.

"Thought I saw something move outside," Heero said with a frown. "But nothing I can see or sense."

Trowa frowned and also looked out but he could not see anything in the shadows. Heero however had the best night vision of them all and if he said there was something, there probably was. "Could it be a stray cat?"

"Could be," Heero said with a shrug, turning to face Trowa. "How was you mission?"

"Uneventful," Trowa said evenly. "I'm sorry I called off our…agreement so abruptly. I did not mean to hurt you."

"You told me what we were doing was something we did during the war in search of mutual comfort and that now it was simply a bother," Heero said, his eyes fixed on Trowa. "Was I a bother?"

"During the war, there were no other distractions," Trowa said softly. "You were single-mindedly set of self destruction and I was out to finish my objective. But now, I feel for someone else and carrying on with you would not have been fair for anyone of us."

"Quatre," Heero said softly. "Are you going to …" he hesitated looking for the appropriate word. "…be with him now? Is he free to be with you?"

"I feel for him," Trowa said softly. "If I was a different person, I might even consider being with him. But…I can't change who or what I was anymore than Quatre can kill anyone of us."

"You did not tell me if you found me a bother or not," Heero persisted.

"You weren't," Trowa said in an intense voice. "I might not have the same feelings for you as I have for Quatre but I do care for you." He put hand on the other boy's shoulder and looked down at the blue eyes. "I looked after you for a month while you were unconscious and if it ever came to it, I'd do it again. You're like a brother to me."

Heero did not flinch from the touch, used to physical contact with Trowa. "I didn't want to form attachments," he said slowly. "But I thought when you said you no longer wanted to fuck with me, perhaps you no longer considered me a friend. I missed the contact, the stability you offered."

"I handled it badly. I should have tried to talk to you…"

"I don't know how to bond with people," Heero said, dismissing Trowa's apology. "I'm cold and distant. I miss the finer points of the conversation and I'm not exactly subtle. It might have served me during the war but what do I do when weapons are no longer needed?"

"I care for you," Trowa said. "We all care for you and will shield you from whatever you need to be. When you realize you are no longer a weapon to be called in the time of need…"

"Wufei needs me," Heero said softly. "He's different from you but I don't think…"

"What do you mean?" Trowa's voice was strangled.

"When we are together, you never call me by name or look at me in the eye," Heero stated flatly.

"And Wufei does," said Trowa looking distant. He could remember Duo strolling into Wufei's room as if he owned it…

"He's being good to me," Heero said, his voice sounding pleased.

"But," said Trowa weakly. "Wufei…."

"He is a warrior," Heero said softly. "He does understand me."

"But he's with…" Trowa found out he could not finish the sentence while looking Heero in the eye. No matter what, he cared for Heero, and while what he had done had not been fair, if Wufei was doing what he thought he was doing …

"No one's ever slept next to me in a bed," Heero's voice had an odd note, which he'd never heard before and Trowa did not want to analyze it in the fear of what he would find. He looked away and suddenly staggered as he felt slightly dizzy.

Heero's arm steadied him before he could even move. "I'm a little tired," Trowa said as an excuse. "Perhaps we'll continue this conversation later." _Let Heero think I was jealous_, Trowa thought as he strode away from the window, his mind in turmoil.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Down in the garden, crouched under a bush, Quatre pushed his fingers into the dirt to distract himself, his violin he had brought out for practices forgotten. His nails broke and filled with dirt but he continued to do it, to control his emotions, so Trowa would not get caught in the backlash. He'd almost slipped when Trowa had become dizzy but he was finally regaining some control over his emotions. He was being assaulted by something he had never felt before. Heero was as close to being happy as he had ever been, and Quatre could taste it in his mind like a new flavor of ice cream. When Heero had mentioned Wufei there had been a flare of feeling, which he could barely comprehend. And even as his mind reacted to that, his body was reacting to waves of lust coming from Duo's room.

"Wufei," he muttered. "What are you doing?"

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

"What!" exclaimed Wufei. "No, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"It's called safe sex," Duo snickered throwing aside Wufei's tank top he had been lying on. "You know, not just because you could get someone pregnant. Must have practiced that with your wife at least."

"I…we were too preoccupied for that," Wufei said slowly, blushing. "I never thought of condoms."

"So whatever Heero and Trowa have, now you've got it," Duo said, sounding a little miffed. "Never thought of that when you were fucking the sexbot did you? And in Trowa's case it's probably lion rabies or fleas or something."

Wufei snorted at the thought. "If it's fleas you've already got it," he said as he lay on Duo's bed.

"I was joking," Duo said rolling his eyes. "I was tested before I was taken in as a gundam pilot and the others must have been tested the same way. I guess Trowa and Heero didn't exactly sell themselves through the OZ bases, so they must have been clean. I'm just being mean 'cause I still don't like the thought of you with Heero."

"No," said Wufei. "What you say is correct. I should have been more careful with these things."

"It's one of the first rules on the streets," Duo said with a shrug. "You get your shots at the clinic and use protection for sex, just to be on the safe side. Sometimes those inoculations just don't do their job."

In reply, Wufei rolled to his side and touched Duo along his bare chest. "Let down your hair," he said. "I want to see you with your hair down."

"So you can pretend I'm a girl," Duo grumbled. "I've had people who liked it when I gave blow jobs with my hair loose so they could look down at me and imagine I was a girl instead. It made them think they weren't perverted enough to want little boys."

"No," said Wufei looking stricken. "I just wanted to see what it looked like since you spend so much effort on it. Forget I said it."

"I seem to have a talent for blowing the moment," said Duo sitting up. "I …guess I'm still angry at you."

"Do you want me to leave?" Wufei asked, sitting up as well, reaching for his discarded top.

"No," said Duo hurriedly as his fingers reached for the end of his braid which was tied with a hair band. He pulled it off and started to unravel his braid, revealing a thick mass of chestnut colored hair, wavy from being confined for so long. "You know, I am curious to see what you look like with your hair down."

"You mean, what's left of it," said Wufei making a face as Duo's hair spilled down. Loose, it was longer than imagined. "It's beautiful," he said truthfully reaching for it. "When I first saw it, I was surprised you were allowed to keep it. In space, even the women cut their hair because zero-g and long hair is a lethal combination. But now I see why you kept it." He let his fingers slip through it, admiring the way it fell over the slender form.

"Your turn," said Duo as he shook his head making his hair shimmer.

Wufei pulled his hair loose, wishing Sally hadn't been so intent on hacking at it to get to the back of his head, trying hard not to stare at the way the Duo's pale skin contrasted with his dark mane, almost like a silk wrap enticingly placed. "Take off the rest of your clothes," he said hoarsely. He wanted to tear Duo's pants off, but remembering last time, he deiced to pace himself and not rush into anything.

"No fair," said Duo, looking at Wufei's face, highlighted with need. "You still have your pants on."

"Then take it off for me," said Wufei his hands still buried in Duo's hair. He leaned forward, burying his face and inhaling deeply. Long hair meant a lot of work in keeping it clean and Duo was as devoted to maintaining his hair as Wufei was about oiling his swords.

Meiran had never believed in long hair or in many of the accessories that had made her seem feminine. She believed it to be a weakness to show her softer side. While Wufei admired her as a fighter, thinking back, he wished she had taken the time to stop and look at the flowers in the field instead being bent on ignoring them. He was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly as Duo pulled on the drawstring that held his pants in place, then pushed them down his hips, as far as they would go while sitting on the bed.

"I thought your underwear would be white as well," Duo commented with a teasing smile, looking at Wufei's skin colored briefs. "And more exotic, like you."

Wufei found out he could blush amazingly well at the comment. "When white pants get wet, they turn transparent," Wufei explained. "If I wear any other color, it becomes obvious."

"So you were going for the no underwear effect," Duo inquired.

"That'd be Heero," Wufei said before he could help it.

"You don't say," said Duo looking up, his eyes shining. "Heero doesn't wear anything under those short…uh…ok, let's not go there since I don't want to remember how you found that out."

Wufei, intent on distracting Duo, slipped a hand down the front of the black jeans and squeezed slightly at the bulge. Duo's head fell back and…his hair flew back…and Wufei groaned. "Take the rest off," he gasped.

Duo unzipped his jeans and wriggled out, followed by his underwear, which was dark blue and as unremarkable as Wufei's. In reply, Wufei slipped his briefs off as well and lay back on the bed. "How do you want me?" he asked.

"On your back is painful the first time," Duo said. "Facedown is better and …do you have any lube?"

"Uh, no," stammered Wufei feeling himself flush. He prudently kept himself from mentioning Heero's lube since he had an inkling that was the last thing Duo wanted to hear.

"Well, I have an organic hair gel which is supposed to be ok," Duo said. "It doesn't sting when it goes in to your eyes so maybe we can use that."

"Fine," snapped Wufei, feeling embarrassed. The last thing he wanted to do was to contemplate someone putting anything in him through…_there_. But the thought excited him to the extent that was enough to make him painfully erect. The talk about lube and anal probing had done nothing to damper his enthusiasm, though he was a little weary of things yet to come. The sites he had gone to did not mention anything about pain but still…

"I don't think you should go to Duo's room right now," said Quatre, standing in front of Trowa, hands on his hips. He thought it over a bit and sat down incase Trowa decided to brush past him.

"But I met Hilde while I was on L2 and there are some things he should know," said Trowa. "Things are not going smoothly in his scrap yard and if Howard hadn't come right then, we all would have been in trouble."

"You met Howard," said Quatre in a very bad attempt at distracting Trowa. "How is he?"

"Why can't I talk to Duo and why was he acting like that in the kitchen today?" Trowa demanded.

"He's got problems," said Quatre with a wince. "Just let it be."

"Fine then," said Trowa decisively. "Where's Wufei? There're a few things I need to ask him about Heero."

"Did you check his room?" Quatre said weakly.

Trowa continued to glare at the smaller boy but Quatre simply smiled back and Trowa found out, much to his disgust, that he could not do it. He was weak; he could not do anything to even slightly hurt the other boy. "Is he in Duo's room?" Trowa finally asked.

"Did you cut your fringe?" Quatre asked looking brighter. "It looks shorter."

Even Heero hadn't noticed that. Trowa blushed slightly and nodded. "It's not what you think," he said hastily as the other boy looked pleased.

"I think you've cut your hair," Quatre said dryly. "Come on, why are you so intent on looking for other people? You can tell me about your trip to L2 right? Where's Heero?"

"Last I saw, crawling about in the garden," Trowa said with a shrug. "He thinks our position has been compromised."

"Oh," said Quatre coloring at that. "I was in the garden a little while ago so maybe I tripped off something. Come with me so I can tell him, I don't want to face him alone."

"Why don't you want me going up?" Trowa demanded perceptively.

"What gave me away?" Quatre asked with a grin as he stood up from his position on the steps leading up and brushed off the dust from the seat of his pants. "They are dealing with some problems so let's just give them time. Come with me and we'll see if we can keep Heero busy for the time being."

"Fine," said Trowa with a frown and shrug. "But what's Wufei doing in Duo's room?"

Wufei was lying face down, ass in the air, feeling like a fool with his erection wilting under the force of the humiliation he was undergoing. It did not help that Duo was doing his best to be thoughtful, gentle and talk him through the whole procedure. "How does that feel?" Duo asked for the fifth time.

"Maxwell," Wufei grated out. "You minutely shifted the pillow under my hips... for the fifth time. Can we just get on with it?"

"I don't know," Duo mumbled. "You don't look like you are having fun."

"I have given up control over my body to you," Wufei tried to explain. "I don't feel comfortable with the idea…but just conti…" He gasped as hands parted his ass cheeks and something invaded him.

"Just a finger," Duo told him. "How does it feel?"

"Odd," Wufei gasped out, trying to remember everything he'd read and seen. Those were nothing compared to the real experience though.

"Ready for another?" Duo asked shakily.

By then, his erection had wilted to nothing, so Wufei was grateful he was lying face down. "Just get on with it, Maxwell," he snapped, more impatient with the whole thing. It was not painful but even the single finger was uncomfortable and he felt exposed.

"Anything you say," Duo drawled slowly and he moved his finger a little and…Wufei jumped as his erection slowly started to come to life and he felt as if he had been shocked to his toes. It was a cross between intense pleasure and pain, almost like coming without actually coming. "I think the second finger now that you are relaxed," whispered Duo, draping himself over Wufei's back. While stretching Wufei with three fingers, he started to lick the Chinese boy's back, the knobby spine and the recent scars, slowly languidly. He discovered that the back of Wufei's neck was very sensitive and when licked and blown on, like that…

Wufei groaned and arched backwards, and Duo grinned. "I think you're ready," he gasped as he tried to pull back so he could penetrate his boyfriend and stopped. His hair had streamed down past Wufei's shoulder and now wrapped around Wufei's fingers…so gently he had hardly felt a pull. "Hair fetish, 'Fei?" he teased. "If I'd known that earlier, I'd have let you play with my hair more often."

"It shows how secure you are with yourself," Wufei said softly, letting go of the strands. "To grow out your hair like a woman would but there's nothing feminine about you."

"There's a story behind it," Duo said, sitting back and stroking himself absently. He reached for the lube and put some on, not wanting to distract Wufei from the perfectly relaxed state he was in. "I might even tell you about it one of these days," he added as he positioned himself. It was then he realized his hand was trembling so much he couldn't hold his erection still. "Ready?" he gasped out.

"Hn," grunted Wufei, which he took to be a 'yes' and pushed in. And tensed.

"Does that hurt?" Duo asked slowly. In his experience, it hurt like a bitch the first time and the time after and the next and then there was the ra…Wufei pushed back onto him hard. "That must have hurt you idiot, why didn't you wait?"

"That…was nothing compared to what I've gone through," gasped Wufei bravely but when Duo sneaked hand around and felt from his erection, it had wilted rather noticeably. Not that Duo's was affected negatively by the new development. In fact, little Duo was all for being enveloped in warm, tight and let's not forget virgin heat, and just wanted to plunge right into it.

"You probably feel as if you are being split in two," Duo said cautiously, trying to catch his breath. He didn't know what to do with his hands; grab Wufei's hips or back or feel around him? "Just wait a sec to get used to it and then we'll go for your magic spot again." He counted backward to ten in three types of standard before Wufei relaxed around him so he could move. At first, he started to move slowly, concentrating more on Wufei than his own pleasure, small movements until there was an answering motion from the boy under him. Then it was all he could do to keep up with Wufei who almost bucked him off.

Duo really tried to last longer, but he had never been a person to hold back, apparently not even when it came to sex. He could feel himself coming closer to the edge, and tired hard to hold back, biting his lower lip in an attempt not to cry out. However, he came far too quickly, slumping over Wufei as the last of the aftershocks shook his body. He pulled out carefully and turned Wufei over, swooping down to claim his mouth as his right hand sneaked down.

He briefly cupped Wufei's testicles, something he had not done before, pulling at the curling pubic hair. Wufei gasped and arched up as Duo skillfully shifted his grip, spreading a little pre-come leaking from the tip. He shifted his grip, rotating his wrist lightly, and in a few minutes, Wufei was crying out his release, albeit quietly.

Duo smiled triumphantly as they both collapsed in a heap But he was feeling a little let down. Sex was great …for him at least but it was not enough. He knew he was avoiding the real issue. He knew he should talk it out with Wufei not fuck the guy, he knew it was a way of avoiding but Duo did not like confrontations. Now if he could get Wufei to get rid of Heero, then things could get back to normal without blowing out of proportions. Just wait until they both caught their breath back…they were in for a long discussion, with Duo doing all the talking.

-- --- --- ----

a/n- I thought Duo gave in too easily but really, he doesn't seem the type to confront issues, more like 'run and hide.' Sorry if this chapter disappoints you but my version of Duo isn't an aggressive guy, just a confused kid. And where Duo comes from using sex as a means of exchange is acceptable, at least for this fic. Did I mention I'm one of those ppl who dislike writing sex scenes.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N- dark ---yeah, I know, for a person who hates sex scenes I seem to be writing lot but I hate them, coz I have a handicap when it comes to writing them. Since no one seems to be commenting on how unrealistic they are, I must be doing ok. :) Thanks.

Chapter 17

"Ew, cold water," Duo said in disgust as he leaned against the door of the shower stall

"Duo," said Wufei sounding slightly embarrassed. "Give me a little privacy so I can shower in peace."

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Duo leered. "But the cold water does make you shrink to the size of a …"

"Out," yelled Wufei embarrassed. Showering was something done in private; he was not used to Duo casually strolling into the bathroom when he was taking a shower and observing him as if he was rare specimen.

"Just wanted to talk to you before we join the rest," Duo said with a cheeky grin. "Didn't know you needed to cool down so soon after what we did."

"I always take cold showers," Wufei said, fighting the urge to clamp his hands to his front to cover himself

"Well, just wanted to know if it was all right if I went down to join the others," Duo said casually. "It's best if we both don't show up at the same time. Although you _are_ showering in my bathroom…"

"Hn," grunted Wufei turning to the side so he would feel less self-conscious. He turned off the water and reached for a towel, wishing Duo had not caught him with his pants down, so to speak.

"I know it wasn't the best sex you've ever had," Duo said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "But at least it's not like you have to turn to Heero for sex, right?" He paused waited for a second for Wufei to answer. When he didn't, he pressed on. "I know you aren't exactly bottom material but look… I'll sort myself out and …and…you don't need Heero …he's not…you won't…"

Wufei stilled in mid-motion, the towel half tied around his waist. With drops of water running down his flanks over his flat stomach to pool at his feet, he looked like a statue standing in the rain. With his hair plastered to his skull, towel barely concealing him, he looked older and more collected, almost as if he was posing for the effect. However, his mind was in turmoil, trying to find a way out of his predicament.

"Just say the words," Duo growled from the doorway, his eyes narrowing.

"Duo," said Wufei, turning slowly to face his lover…one of his lovers. "I…." The perimeter sensors went off with an ear-splitting screech.

"Sally?" Duo inquired.

"No," said Wufei, letting the towel fall and practically jumping out of the shower stall. "Heero gave her a call sign the last time she dropped by."

"Shit," said Duo, rushing to the window. He leapt onto the sill and looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to scale to the roof, think you can check up the front?"

Wufei nodded in reply, already pulling his pants on and tying the drawstring. "Go," he barked.

He ran out the room, pausing only to collect his tank top from the floor, then vaulted over the staircase and landed neatly on the lower level, two inches from Quatre who just arrived there. "Nice to see you finally made it out of the bedroom," Quatre said balefully as he stepped back in reflex. "I had to stop both Trowa and Heero from coming in, searching for you, so you'd better …why aren't you wearing underwear?"

Wufei looked down where his white pants clung to his wet skin, almost transparent…but not that obvious. Still if Quatre had noticed it, there was a good chance everyone else would too.

"Why do you smell of Duo's shampoo?" Heero suddenly asked from behind him and Wufei reached for his non-existent sword while turning around to face the new arrival. Trowa glared at Wufei over Heero's shoulder, his displeasure obvious, as Duo appeared on the top landing.

"Guys," he called down. "I've got bad news and worse news."

"Spit it out Duo," Quatre warned. "Before someone decides to torture you for it." From the expression of those around him, it seemed a sure guess that it hadn't been just a joke.

"The bad news is, a car just drove up the driveway," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"What's the worse news?" Heero asked.

"You are going to love this," said Duo, smiling cheerfully. "It's pink!"

"What do you know! A genuine Tudor mansion with woodwork by Sir John Underbridge. And I think the staircase is genuine oak," said a familiar voice as its owner strolled in as if she owned the place. She stopped speaking when she noticed the person who had opened the door for her.. "Quatre Raberba Winner."

"Dorothy Catalonia," Quatre replied in turn. Trowa growled his displeasure in the background until Duo 'Duo smartly elbowed him in the side.

"Sheesh," said Duo, pulling a face at the greeting. "What's with those two and repeating full names? We already know who they are."

"I think that's how they greet each other," Wufei said with a shrug. "Maybe it's a…"

"Relena," said Heero in the sort of monotone voice he had reserved just for the name, as the girl in question graced the house with her presence. There was no other word to describe the manner she walked in, stately and composed. She might have been in power only for a short while but she was already growing into her position. Perhaps it was in her blood; a princess by birth, a princess in everything else. She was dressed, not in pink but in soft yellow and blue, which suited her coloring nicely.

However, she was still a sixteen year old girl. Her face lit up when her eyes fell on Heero and she smiled disarmingly. "Heero," she said in a slightly breathless voice. "Nice to see you."

"Hn," said Heero with as much enthusiasm as he could muster for the occasion.

"He's speechless from joy," Duo supplied cheekily as the girl walked past Quatre and the rest of them to stand directly in front of Heero.

"What are you doing here?" Heero demanded rudely as he scowled at the girl.

"Why, we came to be graced by your personality," Dorothy drawled as she walked lightly around Quatre to stand next to Relena. "You might as well flatter yourselves now. We've come to ask your help."

"Perhaps we should discuss this sitting down," Quatre said said quietly, shutting shutting the door and locking it. "It's not everyday we get such distinguished guests."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Quatre was annoyed. He wished he could force everyone to sit in one place, hit them on the head with something solid and throw them in the sea.

They were all in the kitchen: the only room with a table they could sit around and had more than three chairs with all four of their legs Relena sat primly, adjusting her skirts and acting as if the dust and dirt did not disturb her. Dorothy made a great show of dusting her chair and adjusting her non-existent skirts, since she wore dark gray trousers and a matching blouse of light gray silk, before sitting down and sniffing at everything in general.

Quatre sat facing the two girls, understanding the importance of facing the people you were about to talk to. Eye-contact was important in negotiations and he was not about to let his lifelong training in managing people go to waste. Trowa sat between Dorothy and him and continued to glare at her until Quatre almost told the green-eyed boy that there was no rapier in sight anywhere, and he did not think she would stab him again. He was annoyed Trowa thought he was incapable of looking after himself, even after all this time.

Heero had, by coincidence or design, chosen a chair closer to Relena, leaving Duo a seat between Dorothy and Quatre. Duo was acting hyper for some reason, lounging in his chair, balancing it on two legs and swinging back dangerously. Relena looked as if she wanted to speak to Heero alone but Heero continued to stare at her intently but almost blankly.

Wufei refused to sit. Instead he placed himself at the entrance of the kitchen balancing himself on his right leg, hooking the toes of his left leg around the ankle of the other. He stood ramrod straight with an inch to space between his back and the wall, almost as if he was a sentinel standing guard. But Quatre did not think it was the only reason Wufei had chosen to stand. He signaled Wufei with a discrete tilt of his head to come and sit in an adjoining char and was subjected to a scowl. Duo seemed to find the whole incident hilarious and continued to snicker pointedly at Wufei, which led Quatre to wonder exactly what those two had been up to in the room.

"We…uh…" Relena started to speak and halted when it became obvious Quatre was trying to signal Duo to stop swinging his chair.

"What is the problem?" Heero prompted. "And why did you come alone?"

"Because everyone back home is still trying to decide what to do," Dorothy replied for her.

"Heero," said Relena slowly as if he was the only person there. She reached forward and placed her hand lightly on his. Heero stared at their entwined hands as if he had never seen them before until Duo coughed pointedly. Relena colored slightly and sat back, arranging her skirt "I've been getting death threats," she said softly. "Spiteful letters and vid-calls."

"Since when?" barked Heero, instantly alert.

"I've spoken to Miss. Noin about it several times," Quatre said hurriedly. "And she said most of it were just that, empty threats with no physical retaliation."

"Trust me, if it was only that, I wouldn't have bothered coming so Miss Relena can stare at her hero," Dorothy snapped at Quatre angrily. "You might think we are not a bunch of ninnies to come running to you because we broke a fingernail. This is far more serious."

"Explain," Heero snapped back.

"I'm arranging a dinner ball for everyone," Relena said quietly. "I mean everyone who had a role in the war not just the pacifists."

"Why do I get the idea you didn't come here to give us engraved invitations?" Duo drawled as his chair tipped back alarmingly.

"Of course you are invited," Relena said flushed her eyes fixed on Heero.

"As serving staff?" Duo countered.

"As protection," Dorothy clarified before Quatre could find a frying pan to bonk Duo on the head with it.

"Our security has been compromised," Relena told Heero, pointedly ignoring the rest. Duo was really getting into swinging his chair and Trowa was glaring at Dorothy who all but stuck out her tongue at him. "Our normal staff is secure but there are going to be so many people in the Castle during the ball, I don't know half of them. We have screened those who come in and have run countless background checks, but some do slip through. There are holes in our system we know nothing of. Mss. Noin, Lady Une and a few other people have increased the security for the ball but there might be something we've overlooked."

"In other words, you want us to assess your security for this ball of yours." Trowa spoke for the first time. Both girls looked at him and nodded.

"Before you say anything, we've read up the Evil Overlords' Handbook; our sewers are secure and our ventilation shafts are too narrow for anyone to crawl through," Dorothy told Heero, who looked confused at the reference.

"Whoo hooo," said Duo rocking back. "I can see what Quatre sees in you," he told Dorothy.

"Why should we do it?" Wufei demanded from the doorway, and Quatre mentally cursed both Duo and the Chinese pilot for behaving like idiots. They were not taking the threat seriously at all. "You have your own guards."

"We'll do it," Heero said overriding Wufei abruptly.

"You mean you'll come to Sanc and go over Castle's security for the ball?" Relena said, her eyes shining with joy. "You can come with us…all of you…." she added as an after thought. "...when we leave."

"Isn't that a group decision?" Trowa said softly.

"Oh, like we have anything else to do," Duo scoffed. "A nice place to crash in an' some real food for a change." Then he smiled wickedly, his eyes narrowed. "Although, something tells me the invitation isn't for all of us."

"Of course, it's for all of us…uh…you," Relena said hurriedly.

"But it is a one-man job," Duo said, obviously insinuating something. Quatre wondered where he was headed. "Heero has been to Sanc before and he knows what to do and where to look. So what do you say Heero? You've been running low when it comes to missions."

"I…." Heero looked as puzzled as Dorothy but Quatre could feel a spike of understanding from Trowa. He glanced sharply at the other boy but Trowa was looking squarely at Wufei who was in turn was looking at the opposite wall.

"Oh," said Dorothy. "Let me spell this out since Miss. Relena is incapacitated. We need more than one person to make sure the castle is secure for the ball and during the ball, so there will be no diplomatic incidents which can be interpreted as acts of hostility-- accidentally or otherwise. Miss. Noin thinks there's a chance it might happen so she is taking extra precautions but…"

"What you need is someone to enter your castle unannounced and see how alert your guards are," Quatre said thoughtfully. "Someone who can challenge your set up."

"Exactly," said Relena, looking at Heero as if he had said something cleaver. "Will you?"

"Yes," Heero said shortly. "I can break into your castle to see how ready your people are. Tell Noin and everyone else I'll be attempting to do that so everyone will be on their gurad."

"Perfect," said Relena, standing up. "You can come with us and…"

"No," said Heero. "Coming with you would defeat the purpose of trying to sneak into Sanc."

"Point," Dorothy conceded. "But not all of you. Actually Miss. Po specifically told us that Wufei needed at least a week before he was fit for field work so…"

Wufei spluttered in indignation. "Why, that woman doesn't know a thing about me to…"

"Wufei," warned Quatre, certain that the two females present did not want to hear why women were weak, emotional, had poor judgment and were considered inferior.

"Oh, it's perfectly all right," Relena spoke up, making them all pause. "It's just as well you brought up that topic of not knowing things about you because we've been looking up each of you."

"Whatever for?" Trowa asked immediately and Quatre fought the urge to lean over and pat him on the back. Trowa had always been touchy when it came to his identity and his past, so it was understandable that he was not feeling pleased with the change of topic.

"You can't continue to live in abandoned houses and holes in the ground, you know?" Relena said firmly, addressing all of them. "You don't need to hide any more, so I thought you should establish your identities."

"And what did you find out?" Heero asked suspiciously.

"Nothing about you at all," Dorothy answered instead of Relena. "As far as we can tell there was only one Heero Yuy and anything and everything that mentioned him was erased by OZ when they took over the colonies."

"However, you should be happy to know we are trying to rectify that error," Relena said softly, looking urgently at Heero.

"Hn," grunted Heero, which was about as clear an answer as they would get.

"So," said Quatre, hoping to get it over with. "You know everything there is to know about me. What we…"

"Oh, we know all about you," Dorothy said in a satisfied voice. "We also found out a lot about you…" she said turning to Duo who was in mid swing. "…from police records and a public orphanage record…."

Duo toppled backwards with a cry of dismay, managing to jump out of the chair just as he hit the ground with a dull thump. "Damn you people," Duo shouted, obviously agitated. "Can't you leave us alone?"

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about that," Relena said before the situation got out of hand. "We mean no harm. I'm sorry if we offended you any way but you should know that everything we obtained was legal and available to the public if they knew what to look for."

"It's still an invasion of privacy," Trowa replied in a low voice.

"Funny you should say that," Dorothy said, sounding triumphant. "There was also one mention of a Trowa Barton and all the records indicate that he's dead."

"Yes, well," said Heero before any of them could react. "We're all dead as far as certain people are concerned."

"No, you are not," Relena said vehemently. "How can you say such a thing…"

"We are forgetting one more person," Dorothy said indicating Wufei, who froze with a stricken look on his face.

"No, I was saving it for last." Relena sounded rather sad. "We are compiling a list of war crimes committed by OZ during the…"

"It's not going to bring my clan back," Wufei said softly. "Or restore my colony. There's nothing to be done about it and most of the people who are responsible are dead." Though he spoke blankly Quatre could feel the pain rolling off the Chinese boy in waves. He struggled to stand up before things got out of hand.

"But you had a responsibility to your clan, didn't you?" Relena said perceptively. "After all, you were the next in line to rule it. Almost a prince without the title…" she said it bitterly, thinking perhaps that he wasn't the only prince who had run away to hide his identity and given up on his people.

"Relena," said Heero before Wufei could react to the slur. "This is not the time for this. You said you wanted us for one purpose. Insulting everyone here won't help."

"I'm sorry," Relena said, clasping her hands together on the table and looking down. "I'm so angry with my brother sometimes I …"

"We have to leave soon," said Dorothy, getting up. "We don't have much time so why don't you discuss the finer details with Heero while the rest of …of the group gives me a tour of this gorgeous house." She stood up and stared at Quatre who nodded and indicated to the others that they should give Heero and Relena some time to themselves. However, he did not think the Princess was going to be happy with the way things were going to turn out between her and Heero.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

The two girls had been gone for over three hours but it took more time to distract Wufei.

"How dare she tell me I have no sense of honor for my people!" Wufei said indignantly as he stalked around the sitting room. Quatre lowered the floor plan of the Sanq Castle and looked at Heero who was studying the security grid on his laptop. Or at least staring at his laptop screen with enough concentration to make the liquid crystal display shatter. Trowa and Duo were engaged in a half-hearted chess match, which involved more pausing and watching other people move around than actual chess movements.

"My responsibility to my people was what…" he broke off, looking down at his feet in silence. "To this day I regret having killed Treize… Doesn't she understand you can't sit at the sidelines and condemn people…"

"Relena lost a lot of people she loved because of the war," Heero said, looking up from his screen.

"Well she didn't see her own people get killed and her colony blown up," Wufei snapped before turning around to go.

"Oh, ignore Heero," Duo said, pushing a pawn towards Trowa's queen. "He's always like that when it comes to _Princess_ Relena. She can do no wrong in his eyes and we all know whom he'd choose, given choice between us and her." He got up slowly and walked up to Wufei and put a hand on his shoulder casually. "Forget what she said, man. I don't think she knew what she was talking about anyway. How about showing me how to win this game…?" He looked back at the board where Trowa had picked up his pawn and put it aside, replacing it with his queen. "…or at least a strategic retreat."

"From what I can see, they have the place pretty well secured," Quatre said, looking up from his table.

"An onsite observation might prove otherwise," Heero said without looking up.

"Great idea," Duo injected. "Heero can go and play house with Relena and we can…"

"Play house?" Heero said, confused.

"Oh, please," said Duo, sounding angry. "Do I have to spell it out to you? She did not come all the way from Sanc just so she can sit in our crummy kitchen and watch dust floating in the air, you dimwit. She came to see you and specifically you. Don't forget she managed to track you down to every other location you were in and she's doing it again. She wants you."

"Duo," warned Quatre. "Let it go."

"No," Duo said vehemently. "I'm sick of her highness coming in here and looking down at everyone, digging out our pasts and telling us what she thinks…"

"It was a bad move there," Trowa agreed and Quatre did not think he was referring chess. "She should have held her cards close to her chest, not announced it to everybody."

"She meant no harm," Heero said quietly.

"Maybe," Quatre said. "But we aren't exactly proud of our pasts so perhaps she should have let it go."

"Perhaps," Heero agreed.

"So is it true?" Duo asked the question they had all been wanting to ask. "Prince Wufei?"

Wufei gave a derisive snort and sat down gingerly in one of the cushioned chairs. "I was the son of the then-ruler of our clan," he said carefully. "I was groomed to take over from him, my marriage was arranged and …"

"You wife was called Nataku?" Heero said in confusion as both Trowa and Quatre looked at Heero in surprise.

"No," Wufei said with a grimace as Duo carefully sat next to him. "She called her self Nataku after a Chinese legend. Female who avenged her husband who died while building the Great Wall of China. Her real name was Meiran."[1

"Ah," said Heero in understanding. "Thought it was a Japanese God."[2

"Oh," said Duo in a small voice. "So… now that's over, can we change topic before we all get depressed."

"To such as how to breach an impenetrable fortress," said Quatre, looking at the floor plan again.

"Let me look at that," said Duo, moving towards the blond. "Hmm, see here, you have the latest copy of the blueprint, which tells you nothing."

"What do you mean?" Heero asked looking up.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but something tells me the Sanc Castle is old," Duo said, getting into it. "And anything that old has to have gone through a lot of alterations.[3 It's near the sea so there's bound to be a few routes leading into it, old escape tunnels and stuff no one mapped but simply blocked and forgotten about. The ventilation shafts are new but what about the old one? Waste disposal did not include incinerators a while back and… Here…see that gap between Noin's Mobile suit hangar and the ground floor? Probably an old vine cellar, boarded up."

"I didn't even see that," the blond confessed.

"If you are going to break into a place, you need to think like a thief," Duo said with a nod.

Heero pushed back his chair and stood up, looking alert and if he had been the shouting type, he would have shouted Eureka! "I will be going to Sanc with Duo," he said.

"What?" said Duo.

"No," said Wufei and Trowa at the same time.

Quatre quietly banged his head on the table.

"As you said, you are the best thief," Heero explained. "I need to test their security without blowing up one side of their battlement so you are the obvious choice of a partner for this mission. You did not seem to mind me going alone so why not with you?"

"Fine," said Duo after a pause. "It'll be just like old times."

Wufei looked as if he'd just swallowed his sword but he nodded. They were warriors first and foremost and their missions rated above everything else, even personal relationships.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Quatre said to no one in particular as Duo approached Heero's laptop to discuss the electronic security system.

[1 don't have link for it yet. Still looking. Got this info off a lj community.

[2 Heero is referring to this: http/ en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Nezha(deity

[3 especially since it was bombed and burned down twice during the series


	18. Chapter 18

A/n- cheer me. It's my let's be mean to Duo week. I am evil.

Chapter 18

Duo found out Heero hadn't changed much as a traveling companion. He tapped away none stop at his laptop, pausing only to eat and an occasional toilet break. Duo spent most of his time in Deathscythe, hoping the extended cloaking he had tinkered up[tinkered with or installed would fully cover the plane they were in, while doing an extensive overhaul on his Gundam to get it ready for underwater travel. Some of Deathscythe's systems were still calibrated for space and he needed to adjust them to function in a place with greater pressure. While Deathscythe's cloaking was better than good, it was stretched to the limit and working inside his Gundam gave him an excuse to keep an eye on the system. Since Heero had not informed the Sanq air force they were coming, the chances of them getting shot down if seen was a possibility. So he patiently suffered the none-stop flight, occasionally checking up on the autopilot.

"You should sleep," Heero said, coming up quietly behind him and Duo jumped, slipping off the side of his Gundam, only to be caught by a pair of strong hands before he hit the hard floor of the plane.

"Do you have to sneak up behind me?" Duo said, shaken by the near fall, as he shook himself free and moved back a bit. Heero had been sitting in one place while he had been the one to run around, so it was understandable that he was the one with loose hair creeping out of his braid and sweat patches under his armpits while sexbot looked as if he was carved out of ice. Overall, Heero looked the same, with his unmanageable hair flopping over his eyes, blue jeans and tank top, all of which gave him a sexy look, while Duo simply came across as scruffy. He could understand why Wufei would choose Heero over Duo and he didn't like that thought.

"We'll be landing in another five and a half hours," Heero informed Duo. "Perhaps you should get some rest."

"Fine," snapped Duo, taking another step back. He knew the other boy had an exceptional sense of smell and he did not want Heero to think he neglected his hygiene. He smelled of grease and sweat; a mixture even Duo, who was used to the odours of the street, had a hard time bearing his own presence; he decidedly did not fancy the thought of Heero getting a whiff of it.

On the top of it, he could smell Heero; gunmetal and a heady scent which Duo was rather familiar with. He and Heero had been working together during the war and in close quarters so it was understandable that he was familiar with it. However, the whole situation was making him regret that he had chosen to come along. Maybe he should have asked Quatre, or preferably Wufei, to come with them to provide back up or…or …buffer between them

Though the thought of Wufei with the two of them did not bode well. Duo could, in a way, see what the Chinese pilot had seen in Heero. He could imagine the way Heero's skin must have shone with sweat as Wufei had thrust into him. Did Heero want to do it it face-to-face or from behind? Wufei had said Heero was a bossy bottom, but maybe it was because Wufei had no idea what to do. He could imagine how those two must have been entwined, all muscles and bone, both darker skinned than Duo but of different shades. He knew how Wufei moved, all fluid grace and power; Heero was all quick, efficient, calculated movements bent on getting the maximum results in the shortest time. Had sex been like that for those two…?

"Huh," he said, looking at Heero, suddenly aware he was being spoken to. And that his pants were starting to feel tight.

"You should rest if you can't concentrate," Heero said as he took Duo firmly by the upper arm.

"I'm not going to be manhandled by you," Duo mumbled, feeling stupid. "Where're you taking me?"

"I need to show you the blueprints I found," Heero said as he dragged Duo towards his lap top.

They sat in front of the screen and Heero called up the information he had gathered; everything from modern day magazine quotes to historical documents, which dated back to time the original Castle was built on. He had highlighted the important points and made a chronological list of the changes done to the castle all during the time

duo had been simply fiddling with the controls. Duo was starting to feel rather dim-witted…

He did feel jealous but like an artist who could look at a more talented painters' work and grudgingly admit that the work was better than his- Duo knew Heero was superior to him. He knew Heero had a lot more to offer to Wufei than he ever could. The only person who could keep up with Heero's unrelenting energy was Wufei. Duo had been a tag along. His worst fear was that Wufei would one day release that while Duo was all fun and games, Heero was the one he wanted to be with.

"You are not paying attention," Heero said as he continued to look at Duo.

"I…uh," said Duo returning his attention to the screen. "Come on, man, this is more than enough. No one is going to be able to go through all this and come up with a solution. Plus, you've been through this before so why do you need my input?"

"No, one person is enough to go through this," Heero admitted without any pride. "But we must assume if someone is looking for a weakness in the Sanc castle they will have many people to help them. I need you to see if I have made any errors."

"Ok," said Duo slowly. "You're right, group of people, not one person." He got up after giving it a cursory look at the screen. "Well, I'm sure you have this end covered so I'll go back to…"

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Heero asked abruptly as Duo almost made it to the doorway of the small cabin.

"Me!" laughed Duo to cover up the awkward pause as he searched for a probable excuse without resorting to outright lying. "What makes you thank that?"

Heero took the question literally. "Before, when we went on missions, you usually sat next to me and talked nonstop about inconsequential things. Now, you seem more intent on doing pointless work."

"Not exactly pointless." Duo hedged towards the exit. "Look, I'll just check the auto pilot and…"

"Maybe," Heero conceded. "But you have not denied my accusation."

"No," said Duo in agreement trying not to squeak. "Is this where you pull out your gun and shoot me?" he joked weakly.

"Should I?" Heero asked seriously and Duo was reminded that Heero had no sense of humor. He was about to make a dash for his gundam when Heero looked at him squarely and smirked. "Sit down, Duo," he said pleasantly.

"Oh, well," said Duo, squeezing into the seat next to Heero with trepidation. "As you wish."

"During the war you were closer to me," Heero said with a shrug. "Did I do something to offend you?"

Duo looked around to see if there was anyway they were being subjected to mind altering rays or something similar. Maybe this wasn't Heero but his clone sent on infiltrating their group. "Er, no," he said after a while. It was true, Wufei had been the one who was guilty not Heero. Heero didn't even know Duo and Wufei were an item.

"I see," said Heero slowly, though Duo could not see anything. "Have you done something you feel ashamed of, something that concerns me?"

"Uh," said Duo startled. "What…me…?" He remembered the time he'd spent with Wufei and thought about it a bit. But no, he hadn't done anything wrong, Wufei was his. "Nooo…" said Duo hesitantly.

"You don't lie," Heero said. "So does that mean you haven't done anything _yet_ but you are contemplating to do something?"

"No!" snapped Duo irritated by the questioning. "What do you think I'm going to do to you? Give you up to the authorities?"

"I was thinking something more personal," Heero said as he turned in attention to the screen. "Whatever it might be, we'll have the conversation later. I believe it will be detrimental to the mission for us to bring up issues that aren't related to it now."

"Fine," said Duo, throwing up his hands. "Whatever you say."

"Then let me show you our approach," Heero said, calling up a map of Sanc on the screen. Duo reluctantly leaned closer as Heero started showing him some underground waterway, which should flow right under the castle and…

…he jerked awake, neck stiff, head at an unnatural angle, leaning against Heero's shoulder. The other boy was typing one handed, the left arm wound around Duo's waist to hold him steady.

"I fell asleep," Duo said as he straightened, wincing as his muscles protested. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You needed it," Heero said. He let go of Duo and much to Duo's surprise, he found himself missing the presence of the arm around him. "You need to be alert for the upcoming mission and we are approaching our drop off point in ten minutes."

"You should have woken me earlier," Duo said grumpily, trying to get through the fog of sleep.

"There was enough time," Heero said, closing his laptop and getting up abruptly, making Duo almost fall over the side.

"You could have at least woken me up and told me to haul my ass somewhere else other than your shoulder," Duo groused as he stood up as well, yawing widely. He put his hands on his hips and arched back to work a few kinks out of his back, grimacing.

"You weren't a bother," Heero said as he started to walk towards the gundam. "And I like the way your hair smells."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Deathscythe hit the sea like the heavy object it was and sank directly to the bottom. Duo squirmed in his harness as Heero's hands on either side of his seat tightened briefly against his shoulders. Heero's body was able to take the shock while standing since there was only room for one of them to sit. Pulling out the emergency plank that served as a bed would have been impractical and the descent itself took only a couple of seconds. Once they'd hit the sea floor, Duo started to move his Gundam in the direction of their destination without waiting for the water to clear. His radar was good enough and he could steer using his sensors instead of his sight.

"Wow," he said as a school of orange fish swam infront of his camera. The colonies did not have any marine life, only few selected mammals, small and easily manageable. Which was why Trowa's lions were such a hit with the crowd. "Did you see that?" Duo asked turning around in his seat. "Wish we had more time to look at those."

"We'll come back when we have time," Heero said as the gundam moved past the fish only using minimum lighting to keep moving.

Duo hoped the plane made it back to the Maganac base safely on auto pilot that he had programmed. He also wished he was not in the cramped cockpit with Heero as a companion. True, he had had a crush on Heero during the war. It might have started when he'd decided to bust him out of the OZ hospital or when he'd seen Heero set his own leg. He had always admired those who were stronger than him and Heero certainly fitted the bill. But while he had liked Heero, he did not think the other boy had ever reciprocated his feelings. He did not think Heero even had a part of him which was ever interested in anything other than killing people or laughing maniacally afterwards. Ok, maybe it was the laugh that had turned him off of him; at least Quatre had cured Heero of that.

Then to find out Heero had been with Trowa had come as a bit of a shock. Not that he blamed anyone but he did wonder about missed opportunities. Still, Wufei was there and Duo did like Wufei a lot so who was he to complain? And Wufei at least spoke like a normal person at times and blushed an adorable red when being teased.

Then the radar pinged once and Duo looked at his screen with trepidation.

"Border patrol," Heero said without a blink. "There is a ravine here." He tapped the screen. "Try to go that way and then under. They never go in that direction so we should be safe until the next shift."

"Fine," said Duo, powering up before one of the border patrol crafts made a visual sighting of him. "But why don't they go there?"

"Too deep, most likely," Heero said as Duo maneuvered into the trench. He let Deathscythe fall slowly, using the thrusters to balance the descent.

"Er...ok," said Duo, squinting at the radar to make sure there was no one chasing them. He did not think Sanc technology was backward but still, there must be a reson for them to avoid the trench and deep was as good an excuse as any. Underwater battles were the last thing they wanted when they were trying to sneak into the kingdom. There was slight blip in the far corner of the radar screen and as he watched, it began to grow and move towards them…and grow. "Heero," Duo said hesitantly, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"I see it," said Heero, also peering over Duo's shoulder.

"What is it?" Duo asked, sounding a little worried. "It came from below so it's not with the rest of the Sanc guards."

"Wait," said Heero, sounding puzzled as well. "Whatever it is, it's coming this way."

And it continued to fill the radar screen in a shapeless mass of …"Heero," Duo said softly, his voice trembling a little as his left hand fumbled for the visual switch. "What is that?"

There was no reply but hands grasped his shoulders hard as something long and organic swam past the gundam making it rock in it's wake. Duo could not see the full image and he found out he did not want to .Whatever it was, was dull brown with black speckles and oddly shaped suckers and…it was larger than Deathscythe.

"Oh, god," Duo breathed as the thing ignored them completely. He could feel fear coursing through his chest like an electrical pulse and he wanted to scream and run or something. He reached for the thrusters but Heero beat him to it, clamping down on his arm hard.

"No sudden movements," Heero said as the thing disappeared from the radar, moving rapidly. "It's gone."

"It was…alive," Duo said in a shaky voice. Give him a battleship any day. An animal larger than his gundam was not something he wanted to deal with. He was going to have nightmares about it for years to come. On second thought, wait till he told Wufei about this. "You know that sightseeing trip?" he said with a shaky smile. "Mind if I postpone it?"

"Now we know why no one patrols the trench," Heero said thoughtfully, still staring at the radar, but Duo noted that the grip on his shoulder was not loosening. Apparently, there were some things that could shake Heero's unshakable countenance after all.

"Can we go now?" Duo asked in a small voice, already firing the engines.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111--

Duo crouched low and looked at the dark passage in front of him, squinting at the darkness. "You sure this is the only way in?" he asked. He wished they could storm the castle in his Gundam rather than crawling through openings so narrow he was sure even Trowa would have problems fitting in. Instead here he was kneeling in wet sand, getting his trousers soaked, while Deathscythe was hidden in the sea nearby. He hoped that the undersea monster would not swallow it whole while he was playing cave explorer with Heero.

"The most logical place," Heero replied as he moved aside the bush covering the entrance and crawled through.

"Romantic getaway on an island kingdom," murmured Duo before following Heero, holding his flashlight between his teeth. Once they'd cleared the opening, the tunnel widened enough for them to stand up. Trowa would have had to stoop but it was almost as if it was build for people their height. Duo took the flashlight and swung it in a low arc overhead. "With the handsome guy of your dreams." And promptly stepped on some half-dead sea weed and fell. "Eep," he said on his way down and landed on his bottom, hard, the torch rolling into the dark.

There was slight sound and it took Duo three seconds to recognize it as Heero sniggering. "Found that funny, did you?" Duo asked as he struggled to get to his feet, trying to brush off his back which was now wet and covered with something slimy.

"You talk too much," Heero said, grabbing Duo by the collar and pulling him to his feet effortlessly.

"I lost my torch," Duo grumbled.

"You don't need light," Heero said as he started to walk inwards.

"Give me a break," Duo grumbled. "I'm not exactly blessed with night vision you know."

"Hold on to my shoulder," Heero said as he moved forward and Duo rushed to catch up with him. The slight daylight that had seeped in through the entrance wasn't enough to light the passage they were in and further inside it was going to be pitch dark. He hurriedly put hand on Heero's shoulder and much to his surprise, it wasn't shrugged off.

They started to walk at a steady pace, Duo cursing the cold as it seeped into his clothes. The passage was made by the flow of water which had been diverted at one time or another. Probably during the time the castle had been built. It was a natural formation with a slippery bottom where a sluggish stream flowed to the sea with odd phosphorous growth adorning the walls. There were also a few odd shell creatures sticking to the sides and some sort of half-dead seaweeds and odd green tendrils of underwater plants collected at the bottom of the sides.

The entire bottom was caked with a layer of slimy green growth which was slippery and felt like jelly to the touch. Duo grimaced as water from stalactites dripped on him as they proceeded. He was glad that he had had the foresight to wear his boots. Which brought up the question, didn't Heero mind wet sneakers and didn't the guy ever slip? There had been a few more close calls and in each case, he'd ridden it out by hanging onto the shoulder in front of him -- and Heero hadn't even slowed.

"Damn," said Duo as they progressed. He was in shape but this was really starting to tell on him. "You wouldn't have anything to eat would you?"

There was steady silence for a couple of more steps then Heero spoke rather reluctantly. "There should be a bar of chocolate in my left pocket."

"Since when do you carry anything other than a gun in your pocket," said Duo as he squinted at Heero's butt which was unmarred by the shape of anything resembling a chocolate bar. Oh, well. Maybe Heero was joking- that is, if he had a sense of humor. "So, what sort of a bar is it?"

"It's a…" Heero paused slightly. "..just…" the hand on the shoulder was suddenly holding something wrapped in crinkling paper and square in shape.

"Uh, thanks," said Duo, switching hands so he had steady hold while trying to unwrap it with one hand. He finally managed it by tearing it off with his mouth. He thought about spitting it down; thought about pollution and all the fish that would die if they swallowed the wrapper by accident- he also thought about what would happen if he let go of Heero. He spat out the wrapper and took a bite off the bar. Not bad; he had no idea what it was but it was nice and a little crunch and oh…well...probably intended for Heero. "Here," he said blindly reaching around the other boy's neck, found Heero's lips by touching and pushed the rest of it into his mouth.

Heero stopped so fast Duo didn't even know they'd stopped.

"What?" he asked. "Not your flavor?" Heero was not chewing it. Duo was sure it wasn't going to dissolve in his mouth so what was he waiting for?

"It's fine," said Heero pulling away just as abruptly as he'd stopped, leaving Duo on his knees on the floor.

"Damn, Heero," said Duo as his hands sank up to the wrists in murky water. "Give a guy some warning will, ya?" He pulled his hands free from the water, hoping he was not going to come down with something, when a patch of gray in the water caught his attention.

"You should be more…"

"Heero," said Duo urgently. "Do you have a light?"

"What is it?"

"There's no sludge in one spot," Duo pointed out.

Heero automatically dropped to his knees next to Duo and looked at where he was pointing. "We're not alone," he said.

"You just had to pick the popular route, didn't you?" Duo mumbled half heartedly.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

They proceeded forward with more caution though Duo found it hard to see the difference. They occasionally stopped to see where the sides of the wall had been scraped by the passing of several people.

"Four at least," Duo said as he studied the wall. Now that he knew what he was looking for it was easier. "And they were dragging something with them…metal cylindrical. I'd say cutting equipment, and Oxy-Acetylene-based from the color of the paint left here."

"The way into the Castle is blocked by a metal grill," Heero said with a shrug. "Maybe they are trying to cut it out."

"Well, it's convenient they have this stuff with them," said Duo, feeling a little angry that he had not been told of it in advance. "What were you planning on doing? There's only so many iron bars you can bend with your bare hands."

"Blow it up," Heero said with a shrug.

"Brilliant solution, but wouldn't that make it a bit impossible for us to go in stealthily," Duo muttered as he almost slipped. "I…"

Heero turned back and clapped a hand over Duo's mouth. "I see a light ahead."

"I thought the main aim in life is to see a light at the end of the tunnel," Duo said in a low voice as he crouched near Heero and looked around the slight bend.

There were four people and five cylinders in a small room-like widening of the passage. And they were working away at a thick metal grill Duo was certain Heero couldn't even dent. Well, two of them were while one held out a light and the other simply stood, keeping a lookout. Duo was sure there wasn't a gun in sight though there was the distinct shape of a gun under the armpit of the Watch Out guy. "They're not going to use guns," Duo whispered to Heero's ear as the other boy crouched in front of him. "Closed space and all those combustible cylinders."

"Stay here," Heero said, and the next moment he was gone.

"Of all the…" muttered Duo, annoyed at being left behind as the other boy got to his feet and walked confidently towards the men.

Heero managed to walk causally behind one of them and knock him down before the crew was even aware of an intruder. The man he had knocked down, whom Duo dubbed 'Idiot 1' did not faint. Instead he dropped the light he was holding and rolled on the ground away from Heero's grasp and got to his feet smoothly. It was then Duo knew they were against a bunch of professionals.

"Oh, shit," he managed as the others turned as one, taking their wielding masks off. Then the one who had been keeping watch pulled out something which resembled a small five inch cylinder and… "Light sabers," Duo said to himself. "They have light sabers. Knew it, there's the castle, the princess, the light sabers…next I'm going to find I've a long lost twin sister."

Heero literally kicked the first man down, ducking under the light saber and Duo winced as the hot white blade passed just inches over Heero's shoulder. The others slowly started to join in and Duo rolled his eyes at the whole thing.

"This is ridiculous," he said, reaching for his back pocket and pulling out his gun. He aimed it carefully at 'idiot1' and pulled the trigger, making sure the aim was well away from the cylinders. Which left him with welder 1 and welder 2, one of whom dropped his light saber and pulled out a gun, which would have put Wing's buster rifle to shame- and aimed at Duo. Duo dropped to the wet floor as bullets whizzed over his head and he was showered with sharp fragments of stone from the wall behind him.

"Damn," he said as Heero jumped around at the sound, reached for Wielder 1 and chopped him down neatly. Behind Heero, the arc of the light saber glowed brightly even as Duo screamed. "Behind you." Much to his satisfaction, both Wielder 2 and Heero looked over their shoulders, giving time for Heero to punch him down. The man fell to the ground kicking Heero's feet from under him. They both fell to the floor, grappling over the light saber and the Watch Out guy brought his up.

"Man," said Duo getting to his feet and rushing towards the action. He jumped the Watch Out guy knocking him down and kicking him in the middle. What he lacked in shear strength and martial arts training he made up for in experience in fighting dirty. As the other man fell he swiped at Duo's head. Duo smelt something felt the heat on his back but he was too busy to notice. He plummeted the guy hard, kicking him between the legs and finally under the chin, which knocked him out.

He straightened, feeling satisfied, tipped back his head and put his hands on his hips… and found out that his head felt …light.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Heero got to his feet and looked around to see if there was anyone standing. All the men were on the floor and Duo was sitting on a patch of dead seaweed, hyperventilating. He knelt down immediately, feeling his knees rest on something soft, probably more seaweed and started looking over the other boy for injuries. When he couldn't find any, he looked into Duo's eyes, holding up a torch he had picked up from the ground. Duo was in shock, breathing rapidly, but as far as Heero could see he didn't have any injuries. Nothing more serious than a few scratches.

"Duo," he said firmly. "Duo." No change.

Heero leaned back and slapped Duo hard across the cheek. Still nothing. What had happened? He leaned closer, grabbed him by the shoulder and realized that what he was kneeling on wasn't seaweed. He decided to borrow a phrase from Duo. "Oh, shit."

Heero walked to the grill and studied it for a moment, leaving Duo on the ground. The metal had been cut through professionally, leaving on a scant centimeter still connected. Heero pulled the grill as hard as he could until the side gave, and he was almost crushed under the metal bars. It was only by skillful maneuvering that he escaped from the whole thing toppling on him. The metal grill fell to the floor with a loud clang which vibrated throughout the tunnel.

Duo did not react. With a sigh, Heero pocketed everything he thought they'd need -- and one thing that belonged to Duo. He pulled the other boy and tried to make him move towards the now open tunnel. Duo did not do much to walk on his own, just dragged his feet, which was impractical with the unevenness of the floor and the fact they were ankle deep in cold water. If he had been the type to roll his eyes, Heero would have. Instead, he pulled Duo to his feet and slung him over his shoulder. The other boy did not even protest.

Further along, the tunnel stooped, narrowing to the point where a person would have to crawl on his stomach in order to pass. However, there were metal rungs set to the wall which meant the next part of the mission was upwards. Heero set Duo down on his feet, slapped him, again and looked directly into his eyes.

"Duo," he said firmly. "I need you to climb. Can you climb up…fast. We don't know if there are reinforcements coming."

"Ok," Duo said faintly and Heero mentally sighed. He did not want to drag a comatose pilot with him on a mission. If Duo was not going to recover he might be forced to knock him out and keep him somewhere until Heero could come back to retrieve him. He could always shoot him, which meant he didn't have to come back for Duo but the thought of actually killing Duo did not sit well with him. He had grown rather fond of the Deathscythe pilot

Duo climbed mechanically, one foot over the other, hands gripping the metal rungs one after another. Heero climbed behind him, ready to catch him, should Duo slip. Halfway through the climb Duo stopped and looked down. "Heero."

"Keep climbing," Heero snapped.

"They cut it …off," Duo whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Not all," Heero said. He thought about showing what he had in his pocket but then changed him mind. People were known to go into shock at the sight of their limb separate from their body and he did not need Duo to go into shock thirty feet above the ground.

"But…"

"Climb," Heero snapped and Duo complied quietly which was so unlike him. It was obvious Duo was totally useless for the mission now.

Once they've reached the main wing of the castle, Heero considered knocking Duo out with a nerve pinch, tying him up and stuffing him into a broom closet. With one problem out of the way, he would have his hands free. But then Duo was coming out of his shock, gasping, hands shaking, and Heero did not feel like doing that to the boy. "I'm going to see Relena," Heero told Duo. "Can you stay here without getting into trouble?"

"Figures," Duo said. "Go…she needs you more than I do."

"She does not need me," Heero said, mystified. "I have to tell her that there are four men lying at the bottom of a hole under the castle."

"Oh…ok," Duo said in a low voice. "I'll be fine. You go…"

Heero did not trust Duo to be fine tying his own shoe laces, so he pried open a closet door, hoping it was a broom closet. Apparently, castles did not have broom closest since it turned out to be a disused bedroom with purple …everything and a photo of a young Milliardo on the wall. There was also a thick layer of dust which meant it wasn't in use, and Heero did not think it was Zechs' room. He did not think the man was crazy enough to have purple wall paper, carpeting, bedding and draping in a room he occupied. Plus, there was a stuffed rabbit in a corner, which really did not go with the image of the Lightning Baron.

"Stay here and don't move," said Heero, thrusting Duo inside and snapping the door shut. He considered locking it but gave up since Duo could handle any lock.

"Hey," shouted Duo, suddenly becoming more animated. "Why can't I come?"

"Your hands are shaking," Heero told him from the other side of the closed door before striding out to find Noin or whoever was in charge of security now.

Heero found Lady Une and Noin in a deep conversation with Relena in a large conference room on the same floor. There had been no guards and as far as he could see there was no one to look over Relena. He was about to step into the room when he saw a small movement in the shadows.

It was the hair color that gave her away. Otherwise she would have made the perfect shadow. Dorothy stood in a corner of the room, hidden behind the window drapes, her hands crossed. He scraped his foot on the carpet carefully and she snapped around, looking directly at Heero. He nodded to her in recognition, stepped into the room, ready for anything, pulling out Duo's gun from his waistband. He centered it on Relena's head and spoke.

"Your security is lax."

Both Une and Noin spun around, reaching for their weapons, but relaxed at the sight of Heero.

"Heero," said Relena with a faint smile. "Why does this feel familiar?"

"Because he's been doing that since the day he met you," Dorothy spoke from the shadows and it was obvious from the startled glace of the others they had not been aware of her presence. "Oh, don't look so surprised, I was just eavesdropping on you. Put away the gun Heero before you shoot yourself."

Heero put down the gun and continued to stare at Relena as she got up and walked towards him. He did a quick assessment and it was obvious she had grown taller – perhaps taller than him. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel anything about it but it made her look slimmer and more graceful.

"This is the security expert I was talking about," Relena told Noin. "I told you we missed something."

"You missed a lot," Heero told Noin who looked slightly embarrassed.

"Why don't we all sit down and discuss this?"Lady Une suggested diplomatically.

"Yes, why don't us," said Relena. "Shall I order tea?"

"No," said Heero. People paused to drink tea, which meant they might take longer than necessary, which in turn meant he was going to be delayed returning to Duo. "I will show you where I came in," he told Noin. "There are four men who were also trying to break in through the same route and I think three of them are alive. Take them in for questioning."

"Shouldn't that be the priority?" said Lady Une standing up. "Come," she said decisively. "We'll talk as we walk. Noin, call some of our men."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Still it took longer than anticipated and it was four hours later that he returned to the room where he'd put Duo. He had seen no use to inform others of Duo – they were Gundam pilots and they did not share their problems with outsiders. And frankly, he did not expect Duo to be in the room when he returned – he expected the other boy to be somewhere else, foraging for food. What he did not expect was to find Duo curled up on the bed, sobbing quietly clutching what was left of his braid.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N- Duo is the most abused character in the fandom, right next to Trowa who got raped by all the mercenaries and Quatre who went zero and raped camels. (I kid you not, some one offered me a link which I turned down.)

Ok, on to a more serious topic…the story is nearing an end and most of you seem to have guessed the final paring. Most authors have a Mary –Sue or a character they bond with. I was wondering if I can write myself into Dorothy. (Gets bonked on head by beta.)

Chapter is betaed by Stray…as usual.

Chapter 19

Wufei stood in the middle of the hangar's cleared area, arms parallel to the floor. He tipped his head back, closed his eyes and breathed deeply, falling into the rhythm. Empting his mind, listening to his heartbeat…counting one, two, three… He could feel the trance-like calm descending on him – he hadn't practiced in a while and he needed the help to override his pain…

"Wufei," said a calm voice close to him and he snapped his eyes open to find Trowa standing in front of him, bare to the waist, hands crossed. "We need to talk."

"Later, Barton," Wufei snapped angrily. "I'm a little busy, now."

"Practicing," said Trowa, stepping back and slipping off his shoes. "Maybe I can help you out."

"I don't need…"

"We can talk while we spar," Trowa said with a gleam in his eye, which did not bode well.

"Fine," said Wufei, falling into relaxed fighting-stance. "Start."

Trowa leapt up in a blur of feet and it took all of Wufei's concentration to avoid getting hit. Damn, he hadn't even warmed up and now he was being subjected to a killer work out. Finally, seeing a break in the pattern, Wufei blocked a kick with his left leg, spinning around for another move. Trowa backed up in a double summersault, landing neatly on his feet without a hitch. Wufei could see he had a worthy opponent on his hand and mentally prepared himself for a serious battle.

"First question," said Trowa jumping forward, twisting in mid leap and aiming for Wufei's head. "Are you having sex with Heero?"

Wufei ducked, arms crossed in a blocking move, pushing Trowa back and kicking him in the middle at the same time. Trowa was quick and agile – the kick simply brushed him in the middle but there was enough power to wind him slightly. "Once, after you left," Wufei said shortly. "He was under the impression his usefulness had expired."

Trowa winced, probably from what Wufei said rather than the blow. "What about Duo, Wufei? Don't tell me you don't care for him." He sidestepped sharply, sweeping Wufei's feet from under him in a sudden move.

Wufei put a palm on either side of his head and sprang to his feet, ignoring his aching back and in a totally non-martial arts move, backhanded Trowa. "Of course, I care for him," he snarled. "Duo is important to me."

"Then what about Heero?" Trowa shouted, lip split, blood oozing down his chin. He came at Wufei in a low sweeping move, followed by a punch to his chin.

"What was I supposed to do?" Wufei bit out when his jaw stopped throbbing. "Let him walk out? You messed up, Barton. Don't come blaming me for this." He attacked Trowa with a couple of chops, leaping up to bounce off the wall to avoid the oncoming feet. Trowa had long legs, which he used to his advantage, and he was agile.

"You think I messed up," Trowa shouted back. "Heero is…very fragile in certain things." He bent backwards to avoid a kick, flipped over catching Wufei on the left shoulder.

"I've found that out," Wufei said. "And I will rectify my mistake as soon as possible."

"Is that what it is?" Trowa asked as he rolled to avoid a kick and came to his feet next to the wall. "A mistake?"

"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, standing still as Trowa picked up two metal rods that were leaning against the wall. He passed one to Wufei, which the Chinese boy took with a small bow and stepped back to the middle.

"Heero did his equivalent of boasting to me about finding a lover after I broke up with him," Trowa said clearly, weighing the metal bar. Then he suddenly ducked as Wufei's bar whistled down to collide with the wall inches above his head. He was showered with pieces of cement as he moved away.

"He told you about that?" Wufei asked with his teeth ground together.

"He said…" The bar blurred in the air as Trowa came at Wufei with unnerving accuracy. "…you treated him better than I did."

"Jealous?" Wufei asked, blocking and retreating step by step. His hands were aching, his back burned and he was panting.

"No," Trowa ground out as Wufei started a series of counterattacks. "But because I care for him. I don't want you hurting him." His fringe had been brushed aside and lay like a limp rag, saturated with sweat.

"Face it, Barton," Wufei snapped back as he crossed bars with Trowa in a loud clang. They were panting in each others faces, breathing heavily, trying to use physical strength to push the other off. "Someone's going to wind up getting hurt here…there's only five of us and…" Straight, black hair escaped from its hair band and spilled down one side of his face, sweat sticking it to his neck.

A steady stream of gun fire drew a steady line across the hangar floor, causing the two boys to split and roll for cover. They both emerged tentatively, looking to see where it had come from. The chest hatch of Sandrock popped open and Quatre stepped out, eyes blazing.

"I have no idea what your problem is, but can you stop trying to kill each other," he shouted across. "Get ready, you have half an hour. Heero called – something has gone wrong during their mission and he said we are needed."

"Is anyone hurt?" Wufei asked as his heart pumped with fear rather than exhaustion. He didn't know whom he was worried about more, Heero or Duo.

"Heero didn't say anything," Quatre said, still sounding angry. He winched down and landed on the floor, scowling. "Take a shower before you leave. You both look like hell."

Wufei rubbed a hand across his bruised jaw as he looked across at Trowa, who was staring at Quatre with a stunned expression. Then he snickered.

"What?" said Trowa, turning around quickly.

"I hope that isn't for me," he said, pointing towards towards the prominent bulge in Trowa's workout pants. Trowa flushed at the comment, watching Quatre walk away, everything in his posture radiating displeasure. "If that turns you on, then you'll make an adequate bottom."

"What would you know about that?" said Trowa looking straight at Wufei who was blushing but not looking away as he usually would have. Trowa was surprised Wufei could even say those words without getting a nose bleed.

"Nothing I'm sure you don't know about it," Wufei said softly.

"Hn," said Trowa with a small smile. Then the two looked at each other and grinned. "Come on, the showers are waiting."

Heero sat on the edge of the door, staring at the slender form that seemed to have folded into himself, his back to the door. "Duo," he said, closing the door behind him and locking it. The room had not been visited in quite some time and he did not think it would be anytime soon, but he was not taking chances. "I called Quatre. He said he'll be here with the others as soon as possible."

"What did you do that for?" Duo said in a small voice. When he turned over, to his shock, Heero saw tear tracks on his face. "Now they'll come running and it'll be all for nothing. I'm fine…just a little shook up."

"Something was wrong with you," Heero said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I had no idea how to deal with it."

"There was nothing wrong," said Duo, holding the piece of his braid close to him. "I…I…" there were suddenly tears in his eyes and Heero reached out automatically. There was a pause and then Heero had lap full of L2 Gundam pilot, sobbing against his chest mumbling something about sisters, fathers and pain. He didn't know what to do, so he held Duo close to him, feeling the tears soak into his tank top.

Heero patted Duo awkwardly, while the other pilot continued to have a mental breakdown. He concluded that the other boy had to be in a lot of pain if he was crying. Duo hadn't cried when the OZ soldiers had been beating him but he didn't think there were any nerve endings in his hair. Still…"I can make you unconscious," Heero offered.

Duo stiffened then practically leaped off Heero's lap, scrubbing away at his face. "Shit," Duo almost shouted. "Did you just offer to knock me out? I'm sorry if I'm being a total wet rag…"

"You are in pain," Heero offered. "Sometimes blacking out helps."

"Oh…for crying out loud…"

"Which you are…"

"Go away, Heero," said Duo, turning his back to Heero and lying on the bed. "Leave me alone."

Heero stretched out on the bed on his back next to Duo and started to stroke his back slowly in languid circles. "Duo," he said. "It's just hair. It'll grow back." He toes off his damp sneakers and settled back a bit.

Silence.

"Duo." He turned towards Duo so they were almost spooning. "I don't understand."

"Nothing," said Duo in a small voice. "I just need to forget for a while."

"Try to sleep," Heero offered. "It'll help you relax."

"I…" Duo turned over so he was looking directly into his eyes. "Heero…just hold me for a bit. So…I mean…don't knock me out…just…"

Heero opened his arms and the other boy rolled into his grasp. They lay like that for a while until Heero lowered his head and smelled Duo's hair.

"Hey," said Duo remembering something. "You said you liked the scent, right?"

"I like your hair," Heero said a little reluctantly. "Even if it is totally …" he drifted off, realizing that maybe it was not the best thing to say.

"It's ok," said Duo, words muffled as he buried his face in Heero's chest. "I'm…" He inched closer until they were almost stuck to each other. Then he slowly looked up. "Uh, Heero…I seriously hope you have a gun in your pocket."

"No," Heero said, obviously never having heard that old joke. "I'm sorry." Then he leaned forward and claimed Duo's lips.

Five seconds later Duo broke free, spluttering. "You seriously need some lessons in that department, man," he said with a frown. "First of all…don't choke me. And I like my lips the way they are. Here…" He leaned forward. The move caused their crotches to be pressed hard against each other. Heero groaned, letting his head fall back, and Duo couldn't help pushing forward. "God," he murmured.

"Duo," gasped Heero then firmly pushed away from the boy, rolling off the bed completely. "We can't do this."

"I…know," said Duo realizing what they had almost done. "I got carried away. Sorry. It wasn't fair to you."

"It's not fair to Quatre or Wufei either," Heero said.

"Sure…Wufei," said Duo his eyes half closed. "Eh…Quatre…you're with Quatre?"

"No," said Heero with equal seriousness. "You are with Quatre."

"I'm not with Quatre," said Duo sitting up in bed, feeling perked. "What way do you mean?"

"Relationship," Heero said softly. "You two are together in a one-to-one intimate relationship."

"No, we are not," Duo said trying to scramble off the bed.

"No need to deny it," Heero said. "You share a sleeping bag with him, you sleep with him and you were kissing in the kitchen just after you have arrived from your trip. You are also the chosen companion when Quatre travels…"

"He takes me along 'cause no one else wants to come," Duo said trying to find his boots.

"He's never asked anyone else," Heero reasoned, sitting on the other side of the bed to pull on his sneakers.

"You wanted to go?" Duo asked in surprise.

"I've never…" he shrugged as if to say it was inconsequential. "Then this brings up the point I wanted to discuss with you on the plane," he said changing topics. "Are you trying to cheat on Quatre with Wufei?"

"I'm not with Quatre for the fiftieth time!" Duo ground out as he clutched the cut off piece of his braid. "And no, I'm not cheating on him. I don't lie, damn you, so get that out of your head. He's a good friend of mine who's moping over Trowa."

"Fine," said Heero, unaffected by the shouting. "You seem to have recovered from your mental breakdown."

"Wait a minute," Duo said angrily. "I did not have mental breakdown. I was…"

"Sobbing over a piece of hair," Heero said bluntly. "Now that you've recovered, we have to move. We have been here far too long."

"You have a split personality that is not dependant on whether you're wearing glasses or not," Duo grumbled as he stood up. For a moment he looked as if he was going to fall back to the bed, but then he looked up and grimaced. "Let's go."

"You should stop trying to seduce Wufei," Heero said softly. "He…"

There was a tentative knock on the door. "Duo…uh…Heero."

"Quatre," said Duo jumping to the door, wrenching it open and throwing himself at his friend like a long lost lover. "Oh…man…"

Quatre wrapped his hands around Duo, holding him close. "Your hair," said someone behind Quatre and Duo looked up to see Wufei standing next to Trowa, sword strapped to his back. Wufei sported a colorful bruise on his left cheek and another on his shoulder visible under his tank top, while Trowa had a purple bruise on his jaw and was limping slightly.

"Oh," said Duo, catapulting off Quatre into Wufei's arms. "Oh, shit…"

Wufei hugged Duo awkwardly like someone unused to physical displays of affection but did not push him away.

"We're wasting time," Heero snapped as he stepped out side.

"Are you alright?" Quatre asked softly. "Heero…?"

"I'm not the one who is hurt," Heero said as he stepped up to Wufei. Their eyes met over Duo's shoulder. "We need to speak to Relena about the ball. Let's move." Heero snarled in a low voice before stalking off.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111--

"Does carrying a big sword compensate for the lack of…something else?" Dorothy asked Wufei with a serious face as the others sat around the table.

Wufei's cheeks turned an interesting color and Quatre held his breath, afraid the stupid woman was about lose her head. Instead Wufei calmed himself and stepped back, smiling. "I hear you are well versed in sword fighting techniques," he said instead.

"I've been know to take a stab at it," she said with a wink at Quatre causing the blond to smile. He hastily clamped down on it as Trowa snarled.

"Perhaps we should have match?" Wufei said suddenly, his eyes narrowing.

"I thought you didn't fight women," Dorothy said with a laugh.

"I don't fight weak people," Wufei corrected, seeming to enjoy himself.

"We have more important things to discuss than that," Relena said, looking up from a report she was reading.

"So those people admitted their aim was to assassinate Relena," Heero spoke as if in agreement, though his question was directed at Lady Une.

"Yes," she said looking troubled. "And this may not be their only attempt. They hinted at already having people in the castle so the trouble isn't over yet."

"Let me have an hour with one of them," Trowa said in a low voice. "I'll have them speaking…"

"Absolutely not," Relena said firmly. "WE are not barbarians stooping to torture prisoners…"

"Tell that to her," snarled Duo jerking his head towards Lady Une. "I thought OZ specialized in torturing prisoners of war."

"We did no such thing," Lady Une snapped back.

"This attempt will most likely take place during the ball then," Noin said sensibly.

"What is the ball about?" Quatre asked before someone started a sword fight or a fist fight in the middle of the conference room. "Is there any way of postponing it until this blows over?"

"I'm afraid there isn't," Noin answered. "It would look bad if we cancel it now."

"I was thinking we need to concentrate more on technical improvements than on war," Relena said, looking up straight, her voice ringing with conviction. "The Earth Sphere Alliance and the Oz have held back technological advancements so we are all stuck in the 20th century. Our transport is archaic, our technology is outdated and the only difference seems to be that we have a couple of space colonies and few space shuttles to prove we have done something. If we channel some of our resources form mobile doll production to more beneficial…"

"I get it," Duo interrupted. "You are calling some people with big companies that are working on mobile doll production and hoping that they won't mind shutting down their production lines and concentrate on something like canned food or automatic vacuum cleaners."

Quatre had given Duo a couple of tranquilizers but all it seemed to have done was lower his inhibition and loosen his tongue. He was tapping his fingers in a song only he could hear while his shoulder shook with silent rhythm. He understood that Duo's hair had not been a fashion accessory but he needed everyone on their feet and ready to move.

Noin winced at the crudeness of the description but Relena nodded. "Exactly," she said. "I was thinking a dance, food and then a small discussion over coffee. Nothing formal… just to get the idea across. I'll introduce the proposition more formally at the next summit meeting but it's better to give it to them in small doses before coming onto them hard."

"Might work," Quatre nodded. "But you need a reason for the ball…and something to keep the center of attention away from you for as long as possible …"

"No, if you had told me earlier… maybe I could have come up with an excuse," she said sadly. "I'm planning on having it in another four days time and the invitations are sent but I've kept the reason to myself. My brother's birthday is coming up the week after but…"

Noin looked up sharply but kept quiet. Une simply looked amused.

"No… maybe something more shocking, uh, like …"

"Announcing the Gundam pilots to the public," Dorothy said.

"No," said a chorus of five voices.

"Why not one pilot instead?" Quatre said thoughtfully as the rest glared at him.

"You," said Duo pointing at Quatre with a pen that he had bitten the end off. "The Winner heir."

"No," said Quatre sharply. "Let Relena deal with one problem at a time. She doesn't need to be seeing with us…"

"Why not?" Duo demanded sharply. His hand continued to tap until Quatre reached out and slapped it, hard. Duo scowled at leaned back, his foot shaking silently.

"Winner enterprises supplies most of our resources," Noin said slowly. "We don't want whoever is coming to think we are stopping their production so we can fall into the lap of Winner industries."

"Not Heero…" Dorothy said thoughtfully. "Too grumpy and no background. Why not Wufei…you can say he's from the destroyed L5 and talk about the consequences of war and …"

"No," shouted Wufei.

"Yes," said Relena. "Good idea… especially since you are the supposed leader of L5. That should do. We could even start our War Crimes Tribunal… "

"I don't…" started Wufei.

"You can," said Quatre firmly and Wufei backed down, grumbling but giving way. "But not quite," said Quatre thinking furiously. "You need a bodyguard who doesn't stand out. "Dorothy, Miss. Noin and Lady Une are far too well known… so… you need a date."

"Heero," Relena said looking up expectantly.

"No," said Quatre, regretfully. "You have grown taller since we've met last time and if you intend to wear high heels you'll tower over Heero."

"She's going to be almost as tall as Zechs," Noin said fondly. "Must be a family trait."

Duo snickered and even Wufei looked amused while Heero looked distracted, as he had been the entire meeting. "So it'll be Trowa," said Lady Une with a smile. "He'll do his job well and I can personally vouch for his acting ability."

"What about us?" Duo asked.

"You can go in a dress and have Heero escort you," Dorothy said with a wicked smile and even Trowa had to crack a smile at that.

"Duo can scout the roofs and Heero can mingle with the ground staff," Quatre said decisively. "We'll have to go over it in detail."

"What about you?" Noin asked.

"Why, me?" said Quatre, smiling angelically. "You still have that grand piano don't you? I'll be providing music for the crowd. Have a small platform built so I can overlook the crowd. Why, I'll even bring my violin with me if it will help."

"Yes, sir," said Dorothy mock saluting. She looked at Quatre and winked. "Has anyone told you that you're pretty hot when you take charge?"

"Now you know why I don't invite her to formal meetings," Relena muttered to Noin in a loud whisper.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Duo was feeling disconnected, almost as if he was floating. He could barely keep his eyes open but he did not want to close them. His hair had been his Dream Catcher- the thing that kept his memories at bay, filtered his pain and made him whole. He was miserable; he had lost more that three forth of his hair. He had also lost his shield against the world.

With a muted sob Duo headed for the room he had been allocated. He sat on the bed, pulled off his boots and reached back to undo his hair. And froze. Suddenly he wanted someone to keep him company…Quatre, Heero or even Trowa. He was wishing for Wufei but the other boy hadn't said anything to him, being deep in discussion with Une and Relena over what to say at his upcoming unveiling as a fucking prince. Duo threw a boot at the wall in anger. Figures. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Soon Wufei would be a prince and he'd be discarded like everyone else had. Heck, Wufei had loved his hair…he remembered the time they'd made love – and how Duo had had his hair down…then sighed. He didn't even have that now.

All right, so he needed a little reassurance. Without bothering to put on his boots, Duo stood up – he was going to see if he could find Wufei…and then he paused.

The stupid sword fight with that blond female. He was sure everyone would be there; after all, he seemed to be the only person who hadn't been taught the fine art of fencing since birth.

Well, he was going there and he was going to talk to Wufei. Maybe he could convince his boyfriend to come back with him for a little victory celebration…

"She's going to have an advantage in speed," Heero said, coming up behind Wufei, making him turn around fast. "Her sword is lighter so there is less air resistance."

"Trust me, I know," Wufei said with a frown. "Where is she anyway?"

"She's with Relena at the moment but she'll be here soon," Heero said in his dull voice, stepping closer. Wufei did not step back as Heero reached for his shoulder. "Why were you and Trowa fighting?"

"We were sparing," Wufei said with a smile. "It was not a fight, right…Trowa?"

"We came to an understanding," Trowa said softly from beside a display case where rapiers, swords, katanas and cutlasses were framed.

"You should go," Heero said softly. "Quatre has been looking for you."

"It's nothing important," Trowa said, looking away.

"He said it was something about your sister," Wufei offered.

"I… have no sister," Trowa said, looking at his feet.

"Huh," said Heero in surprise. "Has something happened to Catherine?"

"Is she dead?" Wufei asked at the same time.

"I forgot," Trowa said with a bitter laugh. "Both of you have sampled her cooking. No, nothing wrong with her…only when I went to visit her this time she wanted me to do a DNA test to see if I was her brother."

"Did the results turn out negative?" Wufei asked curiously.

"I don't know," Trowa admitted. "The results must be out since she's been trying to contact me the whole day."

"You should just look at it instead of avoiding the problem," Heero said with a frown. "It's better than not knowing."

"Exactly," said a bright voice startling them all, making them straighten instantly. Quatre stood at the door looking slightly fizzled but still smiling. "I've been running around the place looking for you," he grumbled to Trowa. "And here you were all along, hiding." He walked decisively towards Trowa and Heero stepped closer to Wufei, still holing on to his shoulder to make room for Quatre.

"What did she say?" Trowa asked.

"It's not my place to tell you anything," Quatre said with a huff. "But she's waiting for you to call her back. I don't think Inter-vid comm is cheap on L2."

Wufei broke free of Heero's grasp and stepped aside, smirking. "Scared, Barton?"

"You wish," said Trowa, giving Wufei a semi-playful push, which took him by surprise. He staggered slightly and came to a halt against Heero who had put out an arm out to stop him. Instead of letting go, he held onto Wufei pulling him closer.

"Oops," said Quatre in a slightly breathless voice.

"I thought you were only playing along until Trowa broke up with him," said a slightly slurred voice from the doorway. Then as they all watched with the fascination of a space shuttle crash, Duo staggered in scowling. "Trowa's not fucking Heero anymore so you can stop stringing him along," Duo said clearly, stopping in the midst of the small group and looking straight at Heero. "You stay away from my boyfriend. He's mine. Wufei just pretended to like you because I asked him to."

"Oh, shit," said Quatre in a low voice as Heero stepped forward and punched Duo squarely in the middle while Trowa did the same for Wufei on the jaw.


	20. Chapter 20

A/n- Two more chapters and a prologue. I wrote this chapter twice over and Stray, once. So I could say this was co-authored with Stray but she didn't want to shoulder the blame of all the mistakes :) Still, here, the ppl have to think which makes them all a little ooc. I've tried to keep it light and funny since I'm leaving all the brooding and angst to Angel (the vampire not the Marvel comic guy).

Chapter 20

Relena stood in front of the mirror, admiring her dress. It was a simple frock of pale blue silk, body-hugging, with long sleeves. The skirt reached her knees, much shorter than what she would have preferred to wear to such an occasion but Dorothy had pointed out she was going for subtle influence not outright force. To have to appear young and naïve in the eyes of those men made her grimace but she had realized she couldn't change the minds of people without bending a few of her own principles. The way of politics seemed to be compromise.

"You look very nice Miss. Relena," said Noin, holding out a pale pink rose for her to fix on the left shoulder of her dress.

"You don't think I look too young and foolish in this?" Relena asked hesitantly.

"You do look young," Noin admitted. "But think of it as an asset not as a liability you have to outgrow. After all, people are more used to new ideas coming from the young rather than the old."

"I have Treize to thank for that," Relena said with a grimace. "Still, I wish I was going to wear something more formal."

"You look lovely as you are," Noin said hesitantly. "There is something I meant to tell you… I know this is not the best time but…"

"What is it?" Relena asked, looking at her companion.

"There have been reports of sightings of your brother in the Northern part of Switzerland," Noin said apologetically. "There is a representative from the Swiss National Bank here who might bring it up. I'm sorry if this disturbs you but…"

"No," said Relena, holding up her hand. "It's fine. Maybe you should go there once this is over to see if those rumors are true."

"I couldn't leave you here," Noin said in an unconvincing voice.

"Nonsense," Relena said firmly. "I'd much rather know than keep hoping it's true. I'd be grateful if you could see to it personally. After all, you knew Zechs much longer than I did and you knew him well."

"Well," said Noin, tempted by the idea.

"I insist," Relena said firmly. Any fool could see Noin was still moping over her brother and this might keep her busy for a while. "Now that it is settled, I've wanted to go over a few ideas I've been meaning to bring up today."

"Certainly, Miss. Relena." Noin glowed at the thought of being given permission to search for Zechs and Relena gave herself a mental pat on the back.

"I've invited that inventor who came up with a way of converting hovercrafts into cars and that kid who invented the mobile house at the techno fair. Let people think they are looking for sponsors. I'm hoping, by putting them together in one room, they'll be able to come up with some working arrangement."

"But that's not all is it? Noin asked with a faint smile.

"No, I've invited a couple of doctors as well. I think we need to improve the health sector, with all those people injured during the war. I was hoping to mainly concentrate in the areas of …"

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111--

"….male pregnancy."

Wufei did an extremely nice impression of a person who'd stepped on an electric eel. "What!"

"I mean, if all the men got pregnant we'd be able to keep them locked up in the kitchen… barefoot, of course, and they'd be too busy raising children to think about war," said Dorothy Catalonia, swinging back on her heels. She wore a dark, figure-hugging, backless, black dress with the left side split up to mid thigh along her leg. In contrast, she also wore knee high glass heels, which were more functional than most people would imagine, and her family crest embossed on the left shoulder.

"Really," Wufei gritted out through his teeth as she deftly ran the brush up his face.

"Mh," said Dorothy, clearly enjoying herself. "We all know women are superior to men and we have better reasoning powers. All you men need to do is admit your inferiority and… we'll have a better world. Plus, children are so messy, noisy and rude… just like men. It's obvious men should be the ones having kids, not us. After all, we'll be too busy ruling the world without a hitch."

Wufei was stunned for a moment but as he thought over what had been said, he started to smile.

"What?" Dorothy asked suspiciously, clearly not liking the way he smiled.

"My wife would have gotten on with you marvelously," Wufei told her with a side glace to see how she would take the comment.

"Well," said the girl, clearly speechless for a moment, then she also smiled. "What was she like?"

"Stubborn, outspoken like you," Wufei said. "Although our clan wasn't that open about the idea of having women as fighters or mobile suit pilots. I think she sometimes resented being female, and though I admired her as a fighter, I never told her that."

"Hey," said Dorothy with a slight laugh. "Are you trying to put a move on me?"

True to his form, Wufei spluttered and turned red. "No!"

"It's alright then," she said cheerfully as she did the final touching up. "I should tell you, you are not my type."

"What is your type?" Wufei asked, letting his head be tipped back for her to brush up under his chin. "Blond and obsessed about taking over the world?"

"Quatre doesn't want the world, does he?" the blond girl asked, tapping away at his left cheek with her index finger in a mock serious manner. "He does control a couple of resource satellites."

"No," explained Wufei. "I meant Zechs."

"I'm not going against Noin," Dorothy replied with a toss of her blonde hair, packing her make up things carefully. "I prefer my men sweet and gentle." She took a step back and smiled. "There… done. No one will ever know your face is one big purple bruise. I've even managed to make your jaw look even, though don't think it'll stand for close inspection."

"Hn," Wufei grunted as he remembered Trowa's fist. He hadn't even tried to doge, knowing he fully deserved it. He had messed up big time and now both Duo and Heero were avoiding him as if he had the plague. Trowa went as far as to glare at him when they passed each other in the corridors, leaving Quatre to run around like a mother-hen, passing messages to everybody. It seemed the only person they all talked to was Quatre, which made him the middleman for all five of them.

As if on cue, Quatre stepped into the room, holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. Wufei had to bite back a short laugh, not wanting to offend the only person out of the five gundam pilots who was on speaking terms with him. Quatre was dressed like a five year old in his black pants, white long sleeved shirt with lots of ruffles in front, and an earnest expression.

"What do you think?" Quatre asked, trying hard to ignore Wufei's snickering. "And what's that smell?"

"You look adorable," Dorothy said with a wicked smile. "Good enough to eat, though people would accuse me of child molesting if I did that to you now, with you dressed like that."

"I resent that," Quatre said with a small smile, but they all knew it was the effect he was going for. He was going to look as young and innocent as possible for the mission to succeed. "Why does this place smell like one of my sister's dressing rooms?" He sniffed experimentally. "Make up."

"For Wufei," Dorothy answered with a smile. "We can't have him going out looking the way he did before. People would think we tortured him in the Sanc dungeon."

"Well I'd say it's an improvement," Quatre said, looking over Wufei critically. "You look good but do you need to wear that overcoat? Is it a uniform of your clan or something?"

Wufei shrugged to indicate he'd rather not answer. He also wore black pants, much like Quatre's, and a blood red silk shirt with Chinese dragons embossed on it, topped off with a black overcoat. A flaming pearl hung below the dragon's chin[1, . Only Dorothy knew what he had underneath and he preferred it that way. The coat flared back from his hips, emphasizing his slender form but also hiding the hastily made shirt which made him feel as if he was wearing a table clothe. Very useful for an occasion such as this. His hair was skillfully combed back to hide the short spots and gelled so it would stay in place.

"Dorothy," said Quatre, looking at the girl "Can you give us a second?"

"Sure," she said, picking up her make up case. She knew when not to protest and ask questions, which was something Quatre was starting to become fond of. Relena would have wanted to know the reason behind every spoken word, which was starting to become annoying.

"What is it?" Wufei asked, standing directly in front of Quatre.

"I'm calling an official Gundam pilot meeting after all this is over," Quatre said with a grimace. "After the ball, I don't care what time, you will come to the room assigned to me and we'll talk. I'm going to drop the word to the others as well. Understood?"

"You think that's a good idea?"

"If you dare slip away when this is all over, I'll kill you," Quatre snarled. "You made a mess… hell… we all made a mess, so get it together and learn to clean it up like a man."

"Winner…"

"Face it Wufei, if we walk away with anger, we'll never see each other again," Quatre said.

He looked at Wufei for a moment, holding his eyes, and then turned around and walked out the door, still holing the clipboard close to his body.

Wufei looked down at his feet and contemplated the events which had occurred. He had not spoken to Duo since the incident in the fencing room which was something he was not proud of. He knew he was fond of Duo; he did not dare name feeling he felt for the chestnut-haired pilot since it was something he did not want to deal with.

But he was also very angry with Duo, which was why he had not run after the confused boy after he had dashed out. He was angry at Duo for hurting Heero; especially since Heero hadn't known they were together. It was partially his fault, he had not told Heero; but mostly he was angry at Duo for chasing Heero away. Part of him wondered if Trowa still had feelings for Heero – enough to punch Wufei. But he was not about to give up on Duo which was confusing him to no end.

While Wufei wanted Heero to realize that it was possible for people to be friends without sex, he could not imagine Heero as a simple friend or even worse, a brother, as Trowa claimed to think of him now. Wufei couldn't stomach to think that of someone as a brother and then have sex with him. Perhaps if Heero found someone else to be with… Wufei looked down at his clenched fists and groaned aloud. He wanted Duo but the thought of Heero with somebody other was driving him up the wall. He knew if he learned about Heero choosing someone else to be with, he would be very, very hurt…or motivated to hurt someone. He would kill anyone who touched Duo…and Heero…Duo or Heero

'But how is it possible to feel like that for two people?' he thought. "Perhaps, you…can…can't…" he thought. But still he clamped down on the idea firmly, his rigid up bringing cringing at the thought. His entire clan would have shocked at the thought of his carrying on with a male…with two males…the thought alone made him shudder.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11--

"There you go," said Quatre, combing the dark hair back and got as much reaction from Heero as he'd from a castle wall. "You look marginally presentable… If you could just stop scowling as if you wanted to kill someone…"

"Hn."

"Oh, Heero!" Quatre gave up all pretense of being detached as he gave is friend a firm hug, throwing his arms around Heero, who stiffened then pulled away. The blond stood for a moment, wondering just when the growth spurt had hit him. He was slightly taller than Heero now – perhaps an inch, but an inch that counted.

"What do you want?" There was a soft, bitter note in Heero's voice which made Quatre wince. It seemed Heero got the worst end of the deal. In the beginning, all Heero had ever thought of had been himself, but with time he had started to work with the rest of them, forming a bond. Then to find out that his team mates had actually used him had been a bitter pill to swallow. Not that Quatre imagined either Duo or Wufei could have manipulated the whole situation. He had far too much faith in all of them to think the circumstances they were in were anything but accidental.

"I'm calling a meeting after the ball is over," Quatre repeated the same words he had told Wufei. "Will you…"

"I'll come," Heero said with a huff. "Just don't expect me to stay."

"Just…" Quatre wasn't sure as what to say. "Don't run away."

"I won't," Heero said in an oddly quiet voice. "I'm not going to let Duo…" The emphasis on the name alone should have been enough to have the owner sneezing blood. "…chase me away."

"I don't think he really meant what he said," Quatre said tiredly. The night had yet to start and he was tired already. He was stretched to the breaking point, running around, organizing security and passing messages to four stubborn fools.

"I don't like it when people hate me," Heero said slowly. "Before, it was fine but all of you …are my friends and when someone hates me…"

"No one hates you," Quatre said but he could see that in the past months Heero had relaxed into their little group. He had started to join in with the rest, not in a big way but contributing to conversations and listening politely to opinions instead of overriding them. Now, with everything that had happened, Quatre hoped Heero would not slide back to being the silent, brooding guy they knew at the beginning of the war.

"Is that what it felt like to you when I was with Trowa?" The question caught Quatre as unexpectedly as a left hook to the jaw. "I knew you wanted him," Heero said with a narrowing of his eyes. '_Yes, let's give Heero points for observation,'_ Quatre thought. He did not want to have this conversation, not now, not before the ball but already it was drawing him in. "Perhaps it was wrong of me to think your need for Trowa was the same as mine." The flat voice did not give away any emotions.

"I always thought it would be you and Duo," Quatre said, looking at his feet.

"I like Duo, too," Heero said with a faint smirk. "But …isn't he with you?"

"No!" Quatre said sharply. "We're good friends and nothing more."

"But you have sex with him?" It wasn't even a proper question.

"No, I don't," Quatre said angrily. "People have sex without friendship but friendship can survive without sex."

"Maybe." it was a clear dismissal of the fact.

"I don't understand you Heero," Quatre said in frustration. "How can you be so intelligent and miss the most obvious points? Do you even like the people you sleep with?"

"Trowa was… is nice to me," Heero said with a shrug. "Wufei… I think… I like him because he's so …how would you put it…hard to catch. Wufei doesn't see things the way Trowa does. He's the only person who saw everything in black and white throughout the war. There is no uncertainty in him… he just knows what is right as long as his heart tells him it is." Heero paused and looked at Quatre to see if he would speak but when he did not, he continued. "It's nice to know you are right sometimes. And Duo…"

"I thought you haven't… eh… with Duo…"

"Hm, no but I wouldn't mind," Heero said with a shrug.

"That's just great," Quatre said feeling like a fool. "Everyone is getting laid except me. What should I do, take up knitting?"

However, once Quatre had left, Heero continued to stare out the window seeing for the first time the reason for Wufei's odd behavior. He understood that perhaps part of his reluctance to sleep with Heero might have stemmed from the fact that Wufei was in a committed relationship with Duo, of all people.

He liked Wufei; the Chinese boy did not try to push him off the bed after they'd had sex, which in turn meant that he did not think of Heero as a sex object and he was not about to loose against Duo. But in his own way Heero liked Duo and the braided boy did kiss rather well. Once Quatre had brought up the issue, he had realized he wouldn't mind having sex with Duo either. He wondered if Wufei minded the thought of Duo with him since Wufei was already his.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11--

"Let me get this straight," Duo said irritably as he hung upside down from the harness. "You are calling a meeting."

"That's what I said the last time," Quatre said, beginning to lose his patience. "One would think I was speaking to you in pre-Colonial Japanese."

"Well actually, now that you mention it…"

"Duo," Quatre ground out. "Just…come and talk to Heero…"

"Why should I?" Duo said, flipping over and getting off the castle gorges of the top tower. "Heero has everyone from Trowa to Relena. Why should I care if he gets his feelings hurt?"

"This isn't like you," Quatre said.

"Yeah," said Duo. "Let's just see if you'd be reasonable if you found out Trowa's been out with some tramp while the two of you are together."

"Maybe," Quatre said. "But what's _your_ problem?"

"Nothing," said Duo, looking away guiltily.

Duo was dressed in all black: tight pants, long sleeved top and black boots. He had a couple of hooks clipped to his belt and even as the blond made to speak, he was off to talk to one of the snipers set up on the roof.

"No," Duo said. "Don't stand there… the light from the sky light will outline you from the distance…and tell that idiot over in sector two to step back. Or I'm going to have Lady Une come up and teach him a thing or two about standing still."

"Duo," Quatre asked half curious as the other boy looked his way. "Did you ever have sex with Heero?"

"No," Duo said looking down at his boots, the half of his braid falling down like a cruel reminder of something that was. "But not for lack of trying, mind. I do find him…"

"Attractive," the blond helped out.

"Yeah," Duo said with a reluctant nod. "But… Wufei… I like him and he's more stable. With Heero…you can never tell when he's going to pack up and leave; with Wufei you know if he gives you his word then he'd stay. And I do like them… both… but Heero has always gone after Relena when there was trouble. I want someone who'll be my side… always."

"His feelings for Relena aren't the same as what he feels for the rest of us."

"And you're just telling me about his feelings 'cause you have an insight into it, right? So then, why is he always defending her and saving her life if he doesn't like Miss. Pretty-in-Pink?" Duo turned around and started to fix motion sensors and pressure pads along the outer turret, ignoring the blond completely.

"It's more complicated than that, I think," Quatre said thoughtfully. "He sees her as a symbol for peace so she has to make it through. She's larger than life and she sticks to her principles. He admires her for that but I don't think he wants to do anything crude with her. It's like people admiring the Statue of Liberty from a distance."

"Bullshit," Duo snorted. "The statue isn't there any more, remember? And she's real -- unlike some huge woman with a torch. Thanks for the talk but I've got to get these things fixed to the walls before all the guests arrive so if you'll excuse me…"

Quatre looked as if he wanted to grab Duo and throw him off the wall. "I'll see you after the party," he said instead and walked to the ladder leading down.

Duo glared at Quatre 's back, who, despite everything, was trying to put up a strong front. Everyone knew he was head over heels in love with Trowa, but here he was going all out form group peace even ifi t meant losing Trowa to someone else.

_When had it happened?_ Duo pondered as his thoughts shifted to Heero. They had been so close before, and now he couldn't stand the sight of the other boy. That was overkill, Duo thought to himself. He still liked Heero but Quatre was his friend and it had been pretty obvious that he blond liked Trowa. The thought that one of them would steal his team mate's love interest had been unacceptable for him. The fact it had been Heero Yuy had been ludicrous. Sex and Heero in the same sentence had always made Duo think of those Techno fairs where someone would have a laugh by programming a small robot to hump a table leg.

While he was a gundam pilot, Duo operated by certain street laws. You did not prey on your friends' crush unless you have exclusive permission…otherwise you were rivals. Heero screwing Trowa had come as a shock. He had sided with Quatre, unspoken but surely, and his animosity with Heero had grown when he'd found out found out Heero had come onto Wufei as well..

It was not that he hadn't liked Heero…he did and Heero was technically the first friend whom he'd made after he'd come to Earth. But Heero had sex with Wufei and it made him feel inadequate. Though there was a small voice inside him wondering how those two had looked like, entwined, hot and gasping….with Wufei on top which wilted whatever erection he had been developing. Wufei on Heero was hot…Wufie on top of him was …something he wasn't ready to deal with.

After the disaster in the fencing room, he'd retreated to his own bedroom and considered letting Wufei top him. Though he knew he would eventually get over the fear…that Wufei would never hurt him, he realized he was not yet ready for the whole ordeal. He was not prepared for anal sex. And he also knew that sex alone would never solve the problem. After all, it was only one part of the equation and once that part was over with, you still had to function as a unit.

Duo liked Wufei; he was good looking, hot tempered and probably the most impulsive person of the five of them - after Duo. Heero was…Heero. Duo didn't know what to think…but well. Heero was good looking, and his kissing had improved and…thinking of that was leading to more uncomfortable thoughts… so he hurriedly tried to get back to the job at hand.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Before entering Trowa's room, Quatre took a deep breath and braced himself. He did not want to face Trowa, did not want to go there. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. He might as well be a girl about to get laid for the first time.

He was mentally tired from dealing with the other three. He didn't understand why Trowa was no longer sleeping with Heero, he just knew they weren't. He knew Duo was with Wufei and that Wufei was sleeping with Heero on the side. He just wished these things would resolve themselves. Perhaps Duo and Wufei could work out their differences and Heero would revert to a more open and friendly but still, none-Trowa fucking Heero.

However, he was running out of time and facing Trowa was something he'd left for last, since he wanted to get the worst over with. Bracing himself, Quatre stepped inside.

Trowa was dressed in Sanc colors almost similar to what Noin would wear but more relaxed. The top button of his shirt was undone and his trousers were a little tighter than normal, which meant for the Sanc uniform, it looked painted on. Topped off with a pair of knee high boots, Trowa looked edible. Quatre wondered who'd chosen the wardrobe because it managed to even make the hair look fashionable. Trowa looked like something a rich girl would drag to party with her for his looks alone.

"Don't laugh," the acrobat muttered, glaring at Quatre who was trying hard not to do just that. "Everyone agreed this was simply the outfit for me."

"Can you move in it?" he asked instead.

"It's stretchy," Trowa said. "But it's going to take me at least an hour get of out of these trousers."

"Think you can come to my room after this?" Quatre asked, his eyes still fixed to Trowa's crotch which was clearly outlined by this clothes.

Trowa looked up, his eyes widening in a slight surprise, then his lips curved into a pleased little smile. "I didn't think you had it in you…" Quatre's cheeks flared with heat and he was about to hastily correct his assumption, but then Trowa's expression changed to a reflective frown and he shook his head. "Don't take it the wrong way, but casual sex and you just don't mix."

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111--

"Do you think it's wise to push Wufei into the limelight?' Sally asked from Lady Une over the vid-phone.

"Well," said the former OZ commander. "He's able to take care of himself."

"But still…"

"It's time you got over that guilt Sally," Lady Une said lightly and watched a flush spread over the other woman's face.

"I have no idea what you mean," Sally said.

"That you were on the ship that originally attacked L5," Lady Une supplied. "You know who he was… you must have recognized the Shenlong gundam from that attack."

"So?" sally said.

"You weren't directly responsible for what happened to his clan," Lady Une said. "Maybe it's time you came clean with him."

"Maybe if he doesn't bring his sword with him," Sally grimaced.

"You can call Howard as back up," Lady Une suggested mentally smiling when Sally blushed a little. Who'd think Sally could blush.

"Still... how are the rest doing?" Sally asked, genuinely interested.

"Not …too well," said Lady Une looking at one of the close circuit cameras where she saw Quatre hitting Trowa over the head with a note pad while the other boy tried to duck ineffectively. "I don't know what happened, really, but when Dorothy and I walked into the fencing room, they were all rolling on the floor and having some sort of …boyish fist fight. Apart from Mr. Winner who was trying to break it up."

"Any guess as to what caused it?" Sally asked with a faint smile.

"As far as I can gather, some relationship problem." Lady Une managed to look amused.

"We forget, don't we?" Sally said with a fond smile. "That no matter what they do, they are still sixteen years old. They might pilot gundams and blow up buildings but still they have to answer to fifteen year old hormones and feelings once in a while."

"Yes," said Lady Une a little sarcastically. "It's nice to know our world peace is dependant of five hormonal teenagers with relationship difficulties. Makes me feel real safe."

[1 http / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Chinese dragon

The pearl is associated with wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

A/n- Sally Po is shown aboard the ship that attacked Wufei colony in Episode Zero manga. Since it is canon in most sense (the producer of GW said so) I'm sticking to that version.


	21. Chapter 21

a/n- I have this mental image if what Sanc castle should be like but I'm unable to put in into words properly. I was thinking of a central ball room with high roofed ceiling, like you'd get in the cathedrals…and the rest of the castle standing over it. Ah- wish I could draw a floor plan but I'm not that talented and I want this story over with. One more chapter I think.

Chapter 21

The Ball was a formal gathering for the rich and the beautiful; as far as Trowa could see, it was a success. Several ministers had come to tell Relena how much they appreciated her effort to bring about such distinctions after the war. While Trowa had been under the impression that the gathering was going to be for over a hundred people, he was pleased to find the total number of invitees amounted to sixty eight. A little more if you counted the press and the serving staff.

"I can't invite everyone I want to and put them together in one room," Relena had said in light of his observation. "The people here are those who get along with each other, at least to the point they can stand to be in the same room. Plus, if I invited that many people, my chef would kill me."

Trowa nodded, doing a quick sweep with his eyes, one hand resting on Relena's shoulder, the other in his pocket, fingering the hilt of one of his throwing knives. The Ball room was large enough to house all the people, the buffet tables and the platform on which Quatre performed. A few were dancing to a slow rendition of an old Earth song the blond was playing on the piano in the center of the room while the others wandered around, talking softly. The entire room was decorated with Sanc colors from the table clothes to the curtains. Someone had skillfully placed the tables in front of the windows, a clever move since in the case of emergency, metal gratings were programmed to seal the French windows. The doors were another matter but to have them slam shut on someone was a risk they could not afford, so their locking mechanism was not automated.

The room had three doors; the main door, the door which connected the Ball room to the rest of the Castle, and a separate door for the kitchen and serving staff. In Trowa's opinion, it was two too many entries to watch. Quatre was in a good position to observe them, but he was also hemmed in by the piano, so he was in no position to move quickly. Wufei had been overwhelmed by the two reporters Relena had invited to cover the event, the moment he had been introduced as the only survivor of L5 and many of the other colony representatives also wanted to speak with him.

Trowa could see Wufei and Dorothy, making an odd but interesting couple - with her fair Nordic looks in contrast to his darker exotic appearance. Trowa was glad the other girl had been assigned to Wufei since Dorothy had also been brought up to deal with press and the dignitaries, perhaps with more diplomacy than Wufei.

Most of the scientists and inventors also seemed to have found people of interest to talk to, though not always in line with their areas of work. One woman, a lady from the Gifted Youth Foundation, had been interested in recruiting Quatre after having heard him play the piano, under the impression he was twelve years old. This had left Relena and Trowa snickering softly to each other while the blond had blushed crimson, which only served to reinforce that impression.

A waiter moved smoothly through the crowd, carrying a tray full of glasses filled with Champagne. Relena reached for one, just as Trowa took one as well. He sipped his minutely, holding the liquid in his mouth and tasting it. Then he looked at his date and nodded so she also took a small sip off hers. It was good to drink something cold since they were both feeling the effects of dancing non-stop for over half an hour.

"This is stupid," Relena said from a side of her mouth. "What if it's poisoned and you ingest it?"

"It could still be poisoned," Trowa pointed out. "Slow acting… or something that reacts with the right combination, say your favorite food."

"You know how to make me feel better," Relena said with a small smile as she took a bigger sip. The former Queen of the World was a surprise to Trowa; she did not have the loud brashness of Dorothy but she was starting emerge as a person with a strong sense of humor and a stronger sense of duty.

"I don't get it," he finally said. "Why kill you?" Trowa had always been a mercenary at heart and the finer points of politics eluded him. Like Heero, he was much more comfortable taking orders than questioning them, but now he was starting to learn the power of knowledge.

"Just think of what happened to the first Heero Yuy," she said softly. "If they kill me now before I can get everyone to form an alliance, everything will be lost. If they kill me in public, say for example at a peaceful ball I'm hosting in my Castle, broadcasted on national television, then people will realize that there are those who do not want peace. If there is no one to rally the people together for peace, all will be lost. I might be just a figure head but at least I'm something."

Before Trowa could react to her last statement, an old man, a former Romefeller member who had openly supported Relena, stopped to speak to her for a moment, asking her about a German inventor who had also come to the ball.

"Amazing isn't it?" Relena said with a bright smile. "He really did invent that Space engine that works on water…. I don't understand how it works…" small giggle which now Trowa was starting to see for what it was: a part of her act. "…but his credentials are impeccable." She skillfully changed the subject, showing she knew exactly what information the Count Friedmann had been probing for. "I heard you were going to start the launch of a series of space probes to look for habitable planets beyond the Solar system. How exciting."

After a few pleasantries, the Count walked away, leaving Trowa feeling stunned. "That was amazing," he said. "How did you know all that?"

"I stayed up all night memorizing the names and what's-what of everyone coming here," Relena said with a grimace. "Some people have secretaries to remember such stuff but I plan on depending on myself for a long as possible." She hid a yawn behind her glass and smiled faintly. "I'm so tired. All I want to do now is curl up in bed and go to sleep."

"Just a few more hours, princess," Trowa said as he smiled blandly at an older man who wanted to talk to Relena about the improvements in the music sector. No doubt, brought on by the sight of Quatre who, like a child prodigy, was playing his violin with skill. However, Trowa could see that playing the violin did not please the blond as it should have. It forced him to keep his head in one position, not the ideal way of keeping track of the room's occupants.

"Well, we seem to be faring better than those two," Relena said pointing to where Wufei, after his unveiling to the world, was standing, hounded by reporters, being held back by Dorothy. The announcement of the survivor of L5 was not something to be taken lightly and even as they spoke, Trowa could see there were people struggling to be able to talk to Wufei about something… anything. The cover story was that as the Clan leaders' son, Wufei had been off colony at the time of the attack, but he wasn't sure if the story would hold under close securitization.

He had not spoken to Wufei since the day he'd punched him and he was not about to start now. For all his grand speeches about honor and justice, when it came to baser things in life, Wufei had proved to be no different than anyone else. Now, dressed in red and black, a haughty expression in place, it was hard to imagine him as one of them. Unlike Quatre, Wufei fell into the role of a rich, a pampered boy's part easily, his temper simply helping to cement it.

"We should go there to see what's eating him up," Relena said softly. "I don't want another diplomatic incident."

"We can always talk to Dorothy," Trowa said, reluctant to face the Chinese boy. He gave one last look over his shoulder at Quatre who was looking elsewhere, and sighed. No matter what, he wished it was a blond male hanging onto his arm and not a blonde female but there wasn't much he could do about that. Heero had not spoken to any of them and Duo was practically camping in the top tower – all because Wufei couldn't keep his pants on. Trowa was also aware that he had played a part in it as well; he had used Heero, no matter what, and it did not sit well with him. More than anything else, the feeling of guilt was something new to him. When he had been nameless and did not care if he lived or died, guilt was not something he answered to, but now he could barely meet the eyes of the other pilots.

"Good idea," Relena said as she stopped to keep the glass on a tray held by a sulking Heero. "Heero…" she said then looked around to see if anyone had caught her slip. Heero was assigned to the kitchen end and he had chosen voluntarily to act as a waiter.

"Anything else, my lady?" Heero ground out sullenly, not looking at Trowa, and the other boy had to bite back a laugh. If all the serving staff glared at people like that the party would be over long before the proper time.

"You really should fire him," Trowa said into Relena's ear, loud enough for the people around them to hear. "He's so rude." It was expected of him to behave that way since Trowa had been introduced as a son of a rich mining baron from off world.

"I suppose I should," said Relena, falling into the role quickly. "But I believe people can change…even bad-mannered house boys."

Trowa almost chocked on his drink at that and looked at Relena who was smiling teasingly as him. Heero glared at both of them then walked off, eyes roaming the floor for danger, mindless of people who reached for the tray only to find it gone before they could pick up a glass.

Relena and Trowa walked sedately through the throng of people, avoiding a lot; smiling at a few and Trowa had to say it was success. There were all sorts of people who were discussing things other than war, even though some of them had body guards.

"What's the problem here?" Relena asked as she stopped in front of the group of reporters, a riled Wufei and an amused Dorothy.

"One of them asked something inappropriate from Wufei," Dorothy whispered to the other two.

"What?" asked Trowa, letting his eyes sweep the floor. Quatre had his eyes closed, violin under his chin, playing a slow, sad melody, winding up the instrument before switching to the piano. Duo was nowhere to be seen and was most likely on the top tower, checking out likely targets.

"Something in the line of him and me," Dorothy said with a smirk. "And the continuation of his clan."

"Well, it's been relatively quiet, so something's got to brighten the party," Trowa said in a mild voice when the ground trembled.

"You just had to speak," Relena muttered as the guests started to react. They were all survivors of the war and knew to recognize an explosion, even if it wasn't plainly heard. "Damn, what is it now?"

"Explosion in the town." Noin's voice was cold and crisp in Trowa's ear. "Nothing serious…we are looking into it."

"Keep everyone from panicking," Trowa said softly to Relena. "Noin says it's an accident but we both know accidents don't happen without a reason. Just make sure people don't leave in a group. To do that we'll have to open both gates and that could cause problems."

"And I don't want anyone dead on my account," Relena said with a sigh. "Where's the mike? I'll have to make an announcement."

"On the stage next to Quatre," Trowa said, leading Relena towards the podium with a firm hand under the elbow. "Come on, I'll clear the way for you."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1--

Duo knew it wasn't necessary for him to stay up there once the security was arranged but he did not want to go down and face the music, so to speak. He had acted like a bastard, throwing himself at Heero after accusing Wufei of cheating on him then screaming at Heero in front of the others. He was sorry that he had ever talked Wufei into having a relationship with him.

He was so good at destroying everything he touched – and now it was only loyalty to Relena that was holding them in place. Otherwise, he would have run and hidden before the night was over -- perhaps in the junk yard where he belonged.

But he liked Wufei and he felt something for Heero. Well, Heero had been his first crush after all, and as far as he could see Wufei was also interested in … From his perch near the roof Duo could see the tower-shaped explosion in the town far below and felt the slight tremor as the shockwave traveled the distance.

"Lady Une?" Duo asked as his comm chirped in his ear. "What is it?"

He walked to the edge of the tower and looked down at the central garden and the top of the ball room where the faint notes of the piano could be heard. The ball room was high-roofed, almost three stories tall, so there was no floor above it. Duo could see the faint light seeping up from the skylights.He did not belong down there with the wealthy and he was not going to intrude now. But he was hungry and wished someone would remember there were men up on the roof while they were stuffing their faces.

"There was an explosion in one of the gas factories," Lady Une's voice came through crisply. "They are requesting help to evacuate some of the injured personnel. They also report that some of the workers may still be trapped under the rubble and need rescuing."

"Don't send any troops from our ranks," Duo snapped while he could hear Heero snapping something equally similar. "Damn, if I can get to Deathscythe I can go help."

"No," Lady Une shouted. "Let's not confirm the presence of a gundam in the Sanc region."

"Fine," Duo shouted then ducked as a helicopter flew directly over the castle. "Damn," he swore going for his gun, knowing it was useless against an aerial attack. He pointed it up anyway and swore again when he saw the World Press logo on the bottom. "We have a media copter going directly overhead. Weren't they told that the castle is a no fly zone?"

"Hell, yes," Lady Une shouted back, cursing. "But we can't shoot down the press."

Duo looked up as more and more helicopters, some of them medical services, flew overhead. He looked at the men on the top towers and spoke loudly. "Good thing we didn't arm the automatic ground to air missiles. Don't get trigger happy there." The man, a sergeant of the Sanc home guards, nodded while Duo stepped back to look at the next commotion.

He could hear the front gate opening and looked down to see some of their guards with the distinctive Sanc crest leaving as some vehicles drove in. "What's going on?" he shouted over the comm, ignoring the snipers who were looking his way in surprise. "Why are the gates open and why are there cars coming in? Isn't there anyone to search those?"

"Duo," Noin's voice came through slightly breathless. "We have sent some of our guards out to help with the fire," she explained. "And since our security is no longer tight, some of the guests have requested for their own bodyguards to be given entrance."

"Are you crazy?" Duo shouted, running to the corner from where he had a sweeping view of the road leading to Sanc City. "We…" he paused as automatic gun fire swept over the top tower. The corner he was in probably saved his life since the shadows hid his black clad form but most of the sniper team he had on the roof were not that lucky. Duo rolled flat on his back and watched with horror as one of the World Press copters hovered close as a group of men grappled down to the top of the roof with inhuman speed. Before he could even aim towards the intruders they had landed on the tower.

As drops go, it was clumsily; the copter swerved to avoid getting shot by the ground troops and some of the men being dropped fell clear off the target onto the ground below. It did not deter the rest who dropped easily and much to Duo's dismay, landed neatly, crouching. He could see depressions on the stone where the intruders had dropped, which meant they were heavy; probably body amour and weaponry.

He counted four men, excluding those who'd missed the landing.

"Noin," Duo hissed into his comm. "Don't send anyone to the roof, it's got to be a decoy. The ball room is where everyone should concentrate on."

"Duo," Noin shouted back over the sound of the machinegun fire and the copter blades. "Get off the roof, now. We can seal it off from the floor below."

"I'm trying," Duo shouted as a piercing noise filled his left ear. Cursing he pulled off the ear plug and threw it away. Their communication was being jammed, which meant it was useless anyway. He rolled to his feet and pointed the gun at the first of the intruders and fired. Once. Twice. Trice. The man did not even flinch as he shot back at Duo and only his quick reflexes saved him from being gutted. He aimed for the head and had the satisfaction of seeing the man fall backwards with a third eye. Damn, he'd hoped to catch the guy alive but it had been a case of either him or them.

He dodged to the side as the wall behind him exploded into small fragments of sharp stone, raining down on him like thousand biting needles. He looked at the sniper team placed on the roof, most of them dead, some soon to be. "Aim for the head," he screamed over the sounds. The sniper rifle was no match for the body amour of the intruders and he was not going to be able to fight them with his hand gun alone.

Duo dived to his left, aimed for the next intruder and groaned as a grenade rolled his way. In movies, he knew there was always enough time for the hero to pick it up and throw it over the side. And had it been Heero on the tower and not Duo then Heero might have done just that, but Duo knew better. The delay between it leaving the owner and exploding was very small, and he did not have the body armor to protect him.

Rolling his eye at his own predicament, Duo ran to the edge of the tower, hooking the grappling hook on his belt on the top turret as he jumped off the side. Even as he fell, Duo knew he had made a mistake. He had jumped off the side facing the ball room, which meant the rope was too long. He was going to get splattered on the side of the ball room floor unless he did something, fast.

He slowed his descent, wrapping a gloved hand around the rope, kicking off the side of the wall, cursing as his knees protested. Damn, if he had been on a space ship, zero G would have given him the perfect arc, but with Earth gravity, there was no such luck. Even as he fell the last couple of feet, Duo did his best to aim for a proper landing place. In the last moment he swung, pushing off the wall, and at the apex of his swing, snapped off the harness and dived headfirst towards the skylight. He shot the glass with the last of his bullets, even as he crashed through the tinted glass, remembering, at the last moment, to bring up his arms to cover his head.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

With half a dozen of well-dressed idiots doing a wonderful enactment of a coop of headless chicken, Trowa had a hard time keeping Relena safe. If he could at least back her to a wall, he'd have only one side to protect. He tried to steer her around the mob of people who, in their panic, wanted to talk to the former Queen of the World and be reassured that everything was fine. He was scanning the room when Relena gave a small startled gasp and he spun around hand on her shoulder, other hand bringing out a throwing knife.

Relena was watching a full scale fight which had sprung up at the main gate between some armed men and a fraction of the bodyguards the dignities had brought with them. Noin or perhaps Lady Une had activated the security measures since the metal grills fell over the open French windows with a loud ring but the door remained open. Trowa looked at it with a grimace. The pressure sensors on the door had been turned off to prevent it from trapping a prominent guest in the middle.

"The door," he said hurriedly. "We should close the main door, that will keep them outside and Noin's backup can take care of whatever is happening outside."

Someone must have come to the same conclusion, since when he looked back he could see Dorothy struggling with one of the old-fashioned solid iron door panels. A few guests must have gotten the same idea since they were all struggling to help Dorothy. However, even as the door was pushed half closed, a blue-armored figure broke through forces out front and almost made it through. Trowa took aim and threw his knife, aiming for the head. It bounced off uselessly and he cursed. Even as he thrust Relena back and rushed towards the door, Wufei came up from his right, unbuttoning his ridiculous overcoat. In a single move, Wufei took off the coat and threw it over the intruder's head, which gave Trowa enough time to spin-kick the blue-clad form off the door step.

He turned around, letting Wufei take care of the door as he reached for Relena again. He had to fight to the instinct to rush over to Quatre and see if he was all right. Quatre had no weapons on him -- unless he planned on beating people death with his violin -- and looked like fragile a China doll in his white ruffles – Trowa wanted desperately to protect the other boy and not Relena. However, no matter what, his duty was to the blonde female (who was not Dorothy), so he had to stick to her side. He watched, amused, as the door clanged shut under the weight of the guests even as those outside tried to force themselves inside. Wufei had produced a large sword, apparently from thin air, (or maybe that coat had served a purpose[1) and used it to retaliate against a few outsiders who wanted entrance. Trowa could see that some of those who wanted in were guests who had wandered out into the garden but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Barton," Wufei snapped, appearing next to him and standing slightly behind Relena. "We've lost central comm."

"At least this room is secure," Trowa said, glad to know Wufei was watching Relena's back. He trusted the Sanc security force but Wufei he was sure of. No matter what their personal differences were, he knew when it came to a fight, Wufei would back him up all the way.

"Look," snapped Wufei even as he pointed towards a commotion further down the hall, near the door which led to into the Castle. "We have to get her to a safe place."

"Where?" Relena said dryly. "Under a table or behind a curtain?"

"That would give the press a field trip," Dorothy said drolly, appearing next to Wufei. "Why don't you go and see what the fight is about while Green-eyes and I keep this end secure?"

"Can you?" Wufei asked suspiciously.

"Oh, well" said Dorothy as she looked around. "Right now, I'd give my right arm for a rapier but even without it, I can still manage not to fall on my face."

"Someone should go and close the connecting door," Wufei said even as elbowed a tall, elegant, redhead in a trouser suit as he forced his way through to the other end of the room.

"Well," said Trowa, looking around. "It's taken their attention off Relena for the time being but what we need is a bigger distraction to get her…"

Just then Duo crashed through the ceiling.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Wufei was half way across the floor when the skylight fell inwards in a tumble of broken glass and one figure dressed in all black.

"Duo!" he screamed for all the good it did, even as he changed directions. However, he knew he was not going to stop the fall and watched with sickening fascination as Duo dived to the ground. Duo seemed to hang in midair for a moment and Wufei could see everything clearly. The glass, like sprinkled water, surrounding Duo, whose wide purple eyes showed surprise but no fear, his half-length braid flying alongside him. Then the moment was gone and Duo was on the floor – on top of a dark-haired Gundam pilot who had stepped in to break his fall.

Wufei could feel his knees weaken with relief even as he rushed towards Heero who was calmly helping Duo to his feet. He turned to Wufei, his face blank and said, "There were two in the kitchen I had to take care of."

"Oh, man," said Duo, starting to sag abruptly and both Wufei and Heero caught him from either side.

"Are you hurt?" Wufei asked.

"Duo," Heero said as well.

Duo pushed a few stray hairs out of his eyes, his face bleeding from numerous small cuts. "Just give me a few seconds to get my bearing, will you?" he said a little shakily. "I just jumped without a parachute."

"How's the situation on the roof?" Heero asked hastily.

"We've lost the roof," Duo said. "Call Lady Une and ask if any of the other men placed on the roof made it out alive. If not, it's rigged with explosives so have someone blow it up. The Castle is strong enough to withstand the loss of a few layers of stone."

"How many on the roof?" Heero asked urgently.

"Four," Duo said. "Plus the two that fell off during the drop…I took out one."

"Took care of the two that fell off," Heero said. "The armor was impressive but there is a neck joint…if you can aim for it. Two came through the service entrance…" He shrugged to show that they were also dead.

"We were herded here," Wufei said as Duo shook free and started to stagger away. "What are you doing?"

"Going to find some food," Duo said, reasonably. "I'm starved."

"Wufei," said Heero, looking at the Chinese boy for the first time since the incident in the fencing room. "I've secured the back door. Try to get Relena into the Castle."

"I'll secure the door," Wufei said, understanding that the inner Castle would be safer. "You get her here across the room." He was about to sprint across the room when the last exit slammed shut decisively and the room became as quiet as a tomb.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

The people stilled in mid-motion at the sound and for a moment, no one moved. Seemingly oblivious to the whole incident, Duo calmly wiped some blood off his brows and reached for another …er…chocolate cake and had stuffed it into his mouth when he felt something cold press against his back.

"What?" he said, looking around, trying to speak and chew at the same, time and sighed in resignation when he saw a stylishly dressed female with a small handgun in her hand. "You got something against eating now?"

"Get into the middle of the room," the female said in a low voice, her expression blank.

"Why me?" Duo wailed even as he grabbed a sandwich off the table, pushing the fork towards him.

In reply she gave him a once over, pointedly looking at his utility belt with the grappling hook attached to it, the black clothes torn from his fall and his boots that had seen better days.

"I thought this party didn't have a dress code," Duo said with a shrug as he started to eat, thinking about making a grab for the fork, but stopped as the woman flicked the safety off. "All right, all right," Duo grumbled as he turned around and started to comment to Heero on the quality of service when he realized his companion was nowhere to be seen. "Of all the…" he started to speak when the women's eyes rolled up and she sagged to the ground like a puppet. He looked up the see Heero standing over the fallen figure, looking worried.

"You should stop your clowning," Heero told his brusquely. "She was really going to shoot you."

"I…" Duo started to speak but Heero was already moving towards Wufei who was making some sort of speech to a gun-bearing gentleman wearing a suit, which resembled something an 18th century Tsar would prefer. Wufei was also waving his sword over his head in a threatening gesture, which would have been effective if he wasn't drawing attention to him. Two more of the invitees produced hand guns.

"But we searched everyone, didn't we?" said Duo, falling to his knees, still a little unsteady, as he reached for the gun that had fallen from the woman's grip. The second time a gun was pressed to his shoulders he knew there would be no Heero to rescue him since Heero was on his way across the room to stop Wufei from being shot to pieces.

"Get up," the voice behind him was controlled and low. Again, Duo was impressed by the professionalism of the people who were involved in the coup. There was no hysterical screaming from the gun-wielding invitees, no trigger-happy idiots or unwanted words. These people were good….but how…who…

"How did you get those in?" Duo asked in desperation even as he was being herded with the rest of the guests towards the center of the room.

But he already knew the answer. These people had brought in the weaponry with them as a last ditch attempt, should they fail to storm the castle. They hadn't really searched the guests for weapons since it was an open insult they'd never live down. Still, damn, they'd scanned the guest list and checked these people's background and there was no reason as to why any them should be carrying guns…let alone six of them.

"If you think we are going to give into your demands…" Wufei started, bringing up his sword.

Duo tried hard to steady his shaking legs as he realized just how close Wufei was to being shot. These people had guns – semi-automatic, by the looks of it -- and one sword wasn't going to be good enough for the job. He took a couple of breaths to steady his head and wished someone would hit Wufei over the head before he did anything stupid.

Heero hit Wufei over the head… hard… and as the Chinese boy dropped to the ground, turned around and kicked his wrist so the sword slipped from his grip.

"Your uncompromising ways are going to get us all killed," Heero told him brusquely as he helped a scowling Wufei up, then held up his hand over his head to show he had surrendered. Wufei looked more subdued as he stood, cradling one wrist against the other as he let Heero lead him to the middle of the room. Certain guests stared at them but what most of their attention was on was a stern looking gentleman, dressed like a Victorian nobleman, holding a gun to Relena's head.

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

The formal guests were allowed to leave, leaving only a bare handful in the large room; the members of the press who were brave enough to stay, Noin, the gundam pilots, Relena, five gun-wielding men and the man in charge. (The woman Heero had knocked out remained unconscious which was a good thing.) Dorothy had refused to budge until Relena had ordered her to leave with a few selected words which, at least to Duo, sounded like a prearranged signal. Oh, well, nice to know there was a back up plan. They were capableo f taking in the intruders if their attention had not been Relena who was facing down a gun barrel. They just couldn't risk her getting shot.

The man in charge of the entire operation was one of the invitees, a former Romefeller member who had also openly supported Relena.

"Let everyone else leave. The person you want is me," Relena said calmly while her fingers dug into Trowa's arm. Trowa could feel the slight tremble and knew she was scared but she was hiding it well.

"Enough," Baron Dobtcheff said, softly. "I really didn't expect it to come to this," he added in a slightly offended voice. "Your security is good…Princess, which is why I had to resort to this… as a last resort."

"So this has become a hostage situation now?" Heero said as he stood with his arms crossed, scowling.

The Baron pointed towards Duo and gave a wry grin. "Let's get rid of the uninvited guest first, shall we?" he said. "Didn't you know it's not polite to crash a party?"

"Everyone's a bloody comedian," Duo said, glowering at the well dressed woman who was about to shoot him. Just as he was about to decide on some drastic action, Wufei stepped between him and the woman. Just as swiftly, someone jerked Wufei aside while dragging Duo by the belt so he hit the floor, hard.

"You don't need to do anything rash," Heero said as he stepped over Duo. "What is it you want now?"

"Fine," the Baron said, glaring at Heero but making no move to repeat his actions. "Just the Princess and I'll be on my way."

"You failed," Relena said firmly. "You have no way out, you are trapped. Even as we speak, Lady Une is calling for backup and you will never leave here alive. Surrender now and I'll make sure you get a full pardon…"

"Don't tell me what to do you upstart," the Baron practically fumed. "We of the Romefeller voted for you because you were a girl and easily controlled. Don't assume we gave you power so you can think on your own."

"For your information," Relena grated out angrily. "That's just what I'm doing. Tell your men… and women to drop their guns and …"

"I'll shoot you if you don't shut up," the man said as he fingered the trigger of his ancient gun. It was a gold and silver, ornamental by the look of it but probably functional.

"Your threats are meaningless…" Relena said firmly.

The Baron pulled the trigger… and Trowa stepped in the way, pushing Relena to the side.

"Trowa!" Duo screamed before he could help it as red bloomed on Trowa's chest and he slowly sank to his knees. It was accepted that only Lady Une could get shot and fall down gracefully. Trowa supported himself on one hand, the other pressed to his chest while Relena gave a little scream and fell to her knees beside Trowa.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked one hand around Trowa's shoulder the other trembling as she fiddled with her dress. She was almost in tears, her eyes looking imploringly at the man who was holding a gun over her. Duo moved towards Trowa as he slowly slipped to a side and tried to force him to lie down.

"So," the Baron said with glee. "That's the way to make you obey. Well, I'll shoot him again just to make sure…" he swung his gun towards Duo, who in his black clothes stood out the most "…or someone else this time." He peered closely at Trowa who was struggling to stand up despite the blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Who're you boy?"

"No one," Trowa bit out as he slipped and fell to his knees, coughing up blood. "I'm no one."

"Come on, Tro," Duo was mumbling as he pushed back the annoying hair. "Just stay still…you're going to be all right…" The green eyes underneath it were bright and alert.

"So, you are together in this?" the gentleman said as he looked down at the boy and girl, kneeling on the floor around one bleeding boy. "I'll have to make sure there is…" Everyone jumped, startled at the sound of music, someone playing the piano. As the Baron looked up, at that moment, his gun pointed towards something other than Relena's head.

"Everyone, down," Quatre's voice ordered clearly across the room and Wufei and Heero dropped to the floor immediately

The Baron stopped, surprise evident in his eyes, as he looked at the small, smoking hole in his chest, a little to the left. He slowly lifted his right hand, the gun still present, and felt it and gasped. Heero sprang to his feet, bowling down on of the Baron's followers as Wufei did the same facing the other side.

"No one move!" said a clear voice as the last of the five stood by the piano where he had been ignored as the pale blond who played the piano. "I'm going to kill you all one by one if you don't put down your weapons."

Duo was impressed. Quatre sounded as if he meant it and, with the modified sniper rifle Sally had given him in his hands, he looked very convincing. He peeked up from his position on his knees but he did not get up as he was too busy applying pressure to Trowa's wound to stop it from bleeding. Duo did not even look up as Quatre shot two more people and Heero was Wufei took out the remaining attackers. It was all too easy in the end…if only there wasn't all that blood soaking through his fingers.

[1 one word - Highlander….falls off chair laughing.

A/N- oops.

My computer has an annoying virus which is turning everything into exe folders. I'll probably have to format the whole thing which is starting to piss me off. Here's to hoping Norton will come up with a solution.


	22. Chapter 22

A/n- Ok, the final parings are up and this is the chapter before last. You can consider this the last chapter and the next the prologue if you want. I'm already planning something like a follow up coz I couldn't deal with half the things I wanted to.

Well, just don't kill me for this. :)

In addition

" 567788," (double quote)– is for normal speech

' ' – that is…single quote is for lip movements alone. (read the lips)

- Parseltongue (ok, sorry, can't help it with the new book out and all that stuff.

Chapter 22

Duo hated waiting rooms, hospitals, and anything associated with sickness and injury. It was not surprising though, to find the four of them standing in front of the operation theater at nine in the morning, eyes burning from fatigue and nerves

"So talk to me, Quatre," Duo said as he fiddled with the plaster on his chin. The doctor who had picked out the glass from his skin had been a sadist. The guy had pulled them out with a tweezers, put some stinging liquid on the cuts and then stuck enough plaster on him that he was starting to resemble an Egyptian mummy…that is, if they used plaster instead of bandages. He even had a plaster on his inner thigh which was as uncomfortable as it could get.

Quatre stopped chewing his lower lip and staring at the closed doors of the operation theater to smiled wanly, letting Duo distract him for the time being. "It was a fraction of the Romefeller after all," he said tiredly. "They set Relena up as the Queen of the World and they wanted her taken down. They assumed she was growing too independent and headstrong and they would not be able to control her. What better way to start a war and…"

"What did Relena say?" Heero asked from his position next to Duo on the plastic stool next to the two-person seat the other two were occupying.

"She said she was very sorry Trowa got shot," Duo snapped. "And said she realized that maybe pacifism without the strength to fight for it was useless."

"What does that mean?" The door at the end of the corridor swung open and Wufei walked in, scowling. His hair was falling loose around his face and he looked tired. "Is she going to take shooting lessons?"

"I really don't know," Quatre said with a shrug as Heero stood up.

"Did I break it?" he asked pointing towards Wufei's wrist which was bandaged tightly. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"You're kidding," said Duo with a wry grin. "You probably saved his life, Heero. Seriously Wufei, taking on all those people with guns, with a sword... What were you thinking?"

"When you put it that way, nothing apparently," Wufei said wryly refusing to sit in the only other chair in the corridor…the one Heero had vacated. With a shrug he leaned against the wall and Heero did the same.

"So, is it broken?" Duo asked when he saw Heero glance at the bandaged wrist more than once.

"No," Wufei said with a grimace as he flexed his fingers. "Just a simple fracture. The bandage was overkill."

"He's been in there for ages," Quatre muttered under his breath. "What's taking them so long?"

No one said anything since it had been five hours since Trowa had been wheeled in. Five hours since they'd all been brought to the hospital by one of Noin's special guards and left alone with instructions to the medical staff to treat them as special guests.

"At least things are settling down," Duo said, attempting to distract Quatre again as he pointed towards the vid-screen mounted on the wall protected by a small force field to prevent people from fiddling with it. The sound was turned down but they could see Relena Peacecraft - Darlian holding a press conference, looking tired but alert, flanked by both Noin and Lady Une. "Yeah, but still…" Duo drifted off as Heero leaned against the wall next to Wufei and stared at the opposite wall.

Then it all came back like a ton of bricks. They'd all put aside their differences in the time of trouble but it was not something that could be dismissed. Their little group was tearing apart and if they didn't do something soon it was going to shatter like brittle bones.

"Uh, Quatre," said Duo, getting up from the seat. "Give me a sec with Wufei, will you? There are a few things I need to tell him that cannot be pushed aside."

"I'll be fine," the blond said with a tired smile. "You're right, you need to get whatever is eating you guys over with."

"Just…" said Duo, looked down the corridor they were seated in. The long, empty corridor with the guards in Sanc colors at the other end, giving them a semblance of privacy but also keeping watch for any sudden attacks. The guards were fresh while the four of them were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, and Duo felt better having someone watch their backs. It was nice to know there was people other than them who were carrying guns, not looking to kill them.

"One question, Winner," Wufei said as if he and Heero had not been staring at each other for the past five minutes. "Where did you hide that rifle of yours?"

"The oldest place in the world," Quatre said with a faint smile.

"You had a gun barrel up your…" Duo started with a cheeky grin.

"No," Quatre spluttered while even Wufei colored a little. "I had it inside my violin case."

"That's settled," said Duo, stretching backwards and trying to work the kinks out of his neck. "Wu, can you and I have a word to word? Alone."

"I'll leave," said Heero immediately, moving aside.

"No," said Duo before the others could react. "Heero, stay here with Quatre …Wufei and I will be in the…uh…men's room."

"Should we ignore any loud groans or screaming from there?" Quatre asked wryly.

"Don't even think we're going to have sex at a time like this," Duo snapped before he could stop himself. Then he felt ashamed of his outburst since that was what it looked like. He was dragging his boyfriend into some corner while his friend was undergoing surgery after being shot in the chest. "We just need to talk," he said as he looked at Wufei.

Wufei's face was blank but Duo could see a puzzled look in his eyes. "Come on," he said with a forced grin. "Let's just…talk." He purposefully avoided looking at Heero. There were a few things he needed to tell Wufei before he could look at Heero in the eyes.

He dragged Wufei to the men's room, signaling the guards not to follow them. Nice, now three more people were going to think he and Wufei were going to have hospital-toilet-sex.

"What is it?" Wufei asked as soon as they were out of sight.

"It's about Heero," Duo finally said, a little reluctant but in hurry to get back to Quatre.

"I…" Wufei paused and pushed a hand through his already loose hair. "Let's …just get this over with." He looked around as if looking for a way to escape, before finally setting his eyes on the sink. He walked over to it, ran some water and washed his face. He stood with his back to Duo, his head down so his hair framed hid his face, his hands gripping the sink on either side. "I…don't want to hurt him," he said softly. "I don't want to hurt you…either …"

"There's something I have to tell you," Duo said as he walked towards Wufei. "I…wasn't exactly honest with you."

"You've been lying to me, Maxwell?" Wufei sounded more amused than annoyed.

"No," Duo said hesitantly. "Just withholding information."

"About…"

"Me 'n' Heero," Duo mumbled under his breath.

"Don't tell me you've been with him, too," Wufei said with a sharp bark of a laugh. "Throw in Quatre and you've got someone who's screwed all of us."

"No!" Duo said sharply. "But…but…we…almost did."

"Huh?"

"Damnit Wufei," Duo said in frustration. "Don't turn your back to me. Talking to you is like talking like talking to the fucking Great Wall of China…just turn around and look at me."

"Are you trying to tell me you are with Heero?" Wufei asked tiredly as he turned around. "I'm not really surprised you know." He shrugged resignedly and turned around, leaned against the sink and crossed his arms across his chest. The red and black clothes he had worn for the ball, which had accentuated his golden skin before, now made him look washed out in the harsh yellow light. The makeup that Dorothy had applied to cover his bruises was long gone and the purpling flesh stood out against the rest of his skin, making him look like a battered victim.

"Not surprised?" Duo said, stopping his explanation in mid-flow.

"You were after Heero longer than Winner has been after Barton. You know what he looks like without his clothes, you know his sleeping habits and you have been …" Wufei said monotonously as if repeating list

"Might I remind you that it's not me who was screwing his brains out while I was out?" Duo snapped back. "All I did was kiss him… twice. The second time I was a basket case…from…" he flipped the remainder of his braid. "Don't act as if I was the one who cheated on you."

"I'm sorry," said Wufei looking away, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. "I understand… just …Duo…do whatever you want and I'll just step aside and …"

"You're not listening," Duo said angrily. "We have to go back so let me spell it out to you in short sentences. One, I like Heero. Two, I think he likes me …at least I think I give him a hard on."

Wufei looked down at his boots and smiled a little at that but did not comment, seeing that Duo was not finished.

"Three, you like him and he likes you," Duo said in a rush.

"I think I was merely a substitute at the time when Barton ended their relationship," Wufei said, looking away.

"And he was snuggling to you in a public fencing room in front of two other pilots because he was feeling cold," Duo snapped back. "And don't even say it was because he was trying to make Trowa jealous, because Heero doesn't think like we do."

"Fine, I won't," said Wufei. "But what are you trying to tell me?"

"I don't like it when someone takes what is mine," Duo said clearly, looking into Wufei black eyes. He paused, swallowed and said in a low voice. "But you can't get too greedy… you learn that on the streets…sometimes… you share what you get."

"Duo," said Wufei, in an equally low voice. "Are you saying what I think you are saying?" 

"Wufei," Duo almost shouted. "I almost died falling off a roof. The stupid war is over and we are still being shot at. I'm not doing this for kicks…we'll never have normal lives. Face it man, we aren't normal…we're gundam pilots -- with or without out gundams -- and pretending we are otherwise is stupid. You know it and I know it. We've never looked for other partners...god knows why since I don't think any of us are bad looking or anything but...we've stuck together and I'd rather not split us apart because of this."

"And Yuy'd agree with this," Wufei said dryly. "Either that or he's going to freak out and kill us both."

"Then choose," Duo said in a pleading voice. "Choose one of us, it's either me or Heero. Can you do that Wufei…huh…can you?"

The Chinese boy looked down, studied his boots and silently shook his head. "Duo…this might not be the…"

"I suggest we ask Heero if he's with us then," Duo said slowly. "He's not going to be here long once Trowa comes out of surgery so we'd better get this over with before he leaves for good."

"Fine," said Wufei straightening. "And when he turns us down…"

"He won't," said Duo looking directly at Wufei. He gave an odd, twisted smile, which turned into a half sob. "I…" he waved slightly and the next moment threw up his arms as if giving up. "I ruined it, didn't I?" he said with a small cough /sob."I shouldn't have stepped into this man, just go… I was going to tell you that you'd be perhaps off with Heero. I …have Hilde and the Scrap yard…I'll just clear out and…"

Duo turned around to go out but as he did, Wufei reached out and grabbed him hard by the upper arm.

"Duo," he said, jerking the other boy around.

Duo let himself be pulled back until he was standing next to Wufei, almost nose to nose. Then Wufei seemed to stop to think for a bit before sweeping the other boy into a bone crushing hug. "Don't go," he said simply. "I think you are right, we do need to be together…and …" he was silent for a bit, his head on Duo's shoulder, thinking hard. "…need…" he gave a low, self mocking laugh.

"What?" Duo asked, his arms around Wufei, his head on Wufei's shoulder.

"That's what Yuy… Heero said the day he came to my bedroom,need, that he wasn't needed," He pulled back and looked at Duo. "I think you are right…He'll join us…if we ask him. We should…"He hesitated for a bit and then sighed. "If Yuy wants to join …er…us…then he should know everything there is to know, including your…"

"…reluctance to have sex," Duo said blankly. "All right but…" They both turned their heads one as they heard a new sound. The sound of the operation theater opening its doors.

They both walked towards their previous seats as fast as possible, where Quatre was standing anxiously before a female surgeon in a blood-splattered gown, holding onto Heero tightly. From the way Heero had an arm circling Quatre's waist, it was obvious he was the one who was holding the blond up.

"…going to be fine," the doctor was saying. "He's in recovery and will be waking up soon. One of you can see him for ten minutes if you promise to behave yourself.…"

Duo almost rolled his eyes when he realized that the lady doctor was talking to them as if they were children. But Quatre was almost sagging with relief.

"Is he really all right?" Quatre asked, letting go of Heero and taking to steps forward. "Can I see him?" he stopped and turned around, face flushed. "I'm sorry," he told the other three. "Perhaps…one of you would like to go see Trowa instead…"

"No way, man," said Duo with a shake of his head, holding onto Wufei, using the other boy as a prop. He had been afraid Trowa was going to die after having seen all that blood and now the relief was making him giddy. "You go see him. I don't think he'll appreciate me if I babble his ear full."

"Go, Winner," Wufei said with a shrug. "I don't have much of a bedside manner when it comes to dealing with sick people."

"Uh," Quatre hesitated then looked at Heero, slowly. His eyes were inquiring silently. "Heero," he said softly. "Why don't you go…uh…he might like to see you instead…"

"He's yours," Heero said blandly. "He was yours, even when he was with me."

"Oh, good," said Duo, grabbing Heero's right hand. "There's something we need to talk to you about."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11—

"…although I have this problem you see," Duo said looking at the carpet. _Whoever thought of puke-green carpets in hospitals_… "I had a bad experience once on the streets and now… I sort of panic when some one tries to throw me down on my back and…" He stopped at looked at Heero who was pretending to be a granite statue, sitting between him and Wufei in the cramped two person chair.

Which he had been doing since Wufei had blurted out, "Maxwell here thinks you like both of us so he suggests that the three of us try out a relationship together." Just as Duo was about a get up and run, the Chinese boy had also mumbled, "I agree with him."

After which Duo had stated the points he'd made with Wufei in almost the same order, without the dramatic gestures. Then he'd started to list their weak points…well his weak points but still there was no reaction from Heero. The good thing was, Heero was still seated between the two of them; the bad thing was Heero seemed to be in shock. Well, why was he telling Heero his problems alone?

"…and Wufei is a cross-dresser and dresses up as an exotic belly dancer every Sunday, which is why he hates women," Duo concluded with a flourish.

"Hey," protested Wufei, turning an interesting shade of red. "I do not."

"Hn," said Heero.

"So?" said Duo, prompting for a more revealing answer.

"That night, when I heard you screaming in Wufei's room," Heero said thoughtfully. "I thought you were coming on to Wufei and he had turned you down and you slapped him …"

"What do you think I am?" Duo burst out. "The slut of the group?"

"I thought that was my position," Heero said blithely. "After all, I seem to be the one getting screwed over by everybody."

"That's not fair," Duo said heatedly. "We don't think of you like that."

"But you did tell Wufei that he can lure me away from Trowa by using sex," Heero pointed out.

"No!" Wufei and Duo both said at the same time.

"To have sex with you was my decision alone," Wufei added hastily.

"That were the drugs speaking," Duo said equally hastily. "When I found out Wufei was fuc- er—you know, with you I was mad 'cause…you see, the problem… I told you before… just now. I couldn't give him what he wanted so I thought he went to you instead." He paused but the other two did not speak so he went on. "I knew it wasn't true. Wufei isn't the sort of person who would sleep with you so he can force Quatre to pair up with Trowa. It's the sort of convoluted logic that only works in badly planned fiction and amateur written doujinshi. I knew he must have liked you to sleep with you but I was so afraid if I admitted it he would leave me and…"

"That night," Heero said slowly. "You panicked when Wufei tried to top you." Ok, so Heero had a one track mind and it was stuck on one particular night, fine!

"I think I forced him to remember a few things about his rape he'd rather not," Wufei said in a low voice making Duo bristle. It was almost as if he was not there.

"I would not have gone to Wufei for…sex if I had known you two were together," Heero said slowly. "I thought Duo and Quatre were a couple."

"We are close friends, that's all," Duo said firmly, feeling as if that was going to be a sentence he was going to be repeating for a long time.

"I would be intruding in something meant for two people," Heero said firmly, looking down. "I'm sorry I caused problems for the two of you by intruding but I won't do that any more."

"I think it takes more than one person to …cheat in a relationship," Wufei said, looking ashamed. "You didn't know I was with Duo but I did. It was wrong of me not to tell you about it."

"But why didn't you just ask me to stay away from Trowa?" Heero asked Duo instead. "Why did you come up with such an elaborate scheme instead?"

"Guess I am not exactly for the direct approach," Duo said, blushing a little. "I am to be blamed for that."

"But in the end, Yuy…Heero, we do want you," Wufei said suddenly. "I find you sexually attractive and I know Duo does, too. More than that, we can function as a group and work from there. It's not like you are a total stranger."

Heero remained silent, staring at his shoes.

"That's one way of putting it," Duo fumed. "What Mr. Sensitivity here is trying to say is, Heero… stay with us. Let's see if it works between the three of us. It doesn't have to be permanent and we don't have to make any commitments …just as a trial. Stay….after all, don't you get lonely by yourself?"

"It's not going to work," Heero said softly. "It's hard to make a relationship with two people work…let alone one that involves three. The probability…"

"But you'll give it a try," Duo said, reaching hesitantly. He took Heero left hand in his and squeezed it slightly. Heero did not pull away.

"Hn," said Heero softly as he leaned back holding on to Duo's hand.

Wufei hesitantly reached for Heero's right hand and clasped it, lightly. Heero did not pull away from either one of them and they sat, holding hands in the waiting room of the hospital.

"Does Wufei really go drag?" Heero asked tentatively.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

The doctor was talking about something to do with a left lung collapsing, fishing out bone fragments and broken ribs but all Quatre could see was Trowa lying there inside the transparent tent, attached to machines.

"He came out of anesthesia faster than expected," the doctor said as she stood by Quatre, looking slightly worried. "You can talk to him…he'll hear you but don't expect him to speak."

"I..." Quatre swallowed. "Trowa…" he said hesitantly and reached for the protective covering. He kept his palm lightly on the protective tent and watched the machines beep away. He could see the green eyes, half closed but still alert, watching his move. Slowly, Trowa lifted his arm and kept it on the other side of the tent so their palms touched, almost.

Quatre bit back a sob and mouthed, "you idiot."

Trowa managed a small smile through the oxygen mask and closed his eyes. Alarmed, Quatre turned around but the doctor was smiling.

"He's sleeping," she said. "Let him rest….you can come back tomorrow and when he stabilizes, we can move him to a private room."

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111—

"So, er… how does this physical aspect work in er... work with three people?" Duo wondered, making Wufei cough and Heero grunt. "I have… problems, you know."

"Dioes the rape bother you?" Heero asked, showing his perfect memory. "Is that why you can't let anyone top you?"

"Yeah," said Duo suddenly wishing it was Wufei who was sitting next to him and not Heero. He wanted to burry his face in someone else's neck and pretend the conversation wasn't happening.

"I… can relate to some of that," Heero said hesitantly and Wufei looked up sharply from the other side. "I…" he hesitated and then shrugged. "We can deal with it when the time comes."

"Uh," said Duo speechless by the revelation. "Heero…"

"What's with the three of you sitting in one chair all cramped together? And are you holding hands?" asked a voice close by and all three of them jumped, only to be confronted by Dorothy, smiling at them in an amused manner.

"What is it?" Heero was the first to ask. "Why are you here?"

"You mean I can't visit Green-eyes?" she said with a small smile. "Anyway, I came to tell you that there's some harpy on the vid-comm who is screeching over Trowa."

"Uh," said Wufei, blankly.

"Said her name was Catherine and wants to speak to someone about…"

"Oh, god …Cathy," said Duo, slapping himself on the forehead. "I forgot about her completely. She must have heard about Trowa from the World News…we'd better go and speak with her."

"You speak with her," said Wufei, balking. "I can't…"

"We'll all go," said Heero.

---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—

_Two days later…._

"You were wonderful," Trowa said softly as Quatre sat next to the bed, smiling slightly. 'You really showed them ...' He was simply mouthing the words letting Qutre lip read since he was not yet up to it physically

"I didn't get the last bit," Quatre said shaking his head.

Trowa shrugged slightly to show it was not important and then smiled. 'You can take care of yourself.'

"Of course I can you idiot," Quatre said, more amused than annoyed. "What did you think I was? A helpless five year old?"

'Where are the others?'

"You'll see them," Quatre said darkly. "They're just waiting for you to recover to break the news. I don't think you'd want a heart attack on the top of all this."

'What?'

"You'll just have to wait," Quatre mumbled. "Anyway, I have to go now. Visiting hours are over and the female troll who is guarding your lair will kill me if I overstay my welcome…"

'I'm sorry for what happened…'

"Whatever for?" Quatre asked, stopping half way out of his chair. "You didn't do anything. In fact I should be the one apologizing since I was the one who assigned you to Relena. I should have at least assigned you a bullet proof vest or a …"

"You did fine," Trowa spoke painfully. "You were in charge and …it was nice to see you all fired up. You were in your element and…I'm sorry I thought you didn't have it in you to be a fighter."

"You finally got it, huh?" said Quatre a little hurt that Trowa had thought he was incapable of looking after himself or the others. Still, what Trowa said was true. He had come out as the one with the softer side. Hell, even Duo had usually slashed his way through the enemies while he stopped to apologize. So maybe he was weak. Still, to think Trowa had turned him down because he wasn't an efficient killer was…disheartening…

"I…" Trowa swallowed painfully and continued. "…thought you'd be better off somewhere else other than with me after the war was over because you weren't cut out for this. Thought the best way to protect you from…"

"You thought that by chasing me away from you, I'd go back to live with my sisters and talk about mining asteroids?" Quatre said angrily. "Trowa, I might not be a mercenary like you but I do not want to go back to that life. I can't. The war changed us all, I'm not any different in that regard. I'm a gundam pilot now and I have blood on my hands. I enjoy planning security for Relena's ball. I killed those men and I'm not going to have nightmares over it. I did what was needed. I am this…" He opened his hands, encompassing everything. "Understand …whether you are with me or not… I'll always be the guy who went Zero."

"Quat…"

"Just…think about it," Quatre snapped. "I can kill and I don't loose sleep over it. I'm not some pampered pet and I can think for myself." He got up again. "I've got to go…"

"Quat…" Trowa motioned him closer.

Thinking Trowa needed to say something but we feeling tired Quatre leaned closer. Suddenly, Trowa's hand sneaked out, grabbed him and pulled him until they were looking at each other nose to nose. Then he lifted his head a little and brushed his lips against Quatre's almost chastely. He leaned back looking satisfied…leaving a very confused blond in his wake.

A/n- hah, think Quatre is stupid to be fooled by that!


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Epilogue

A/N- Final chapter. Long note at the bottom dealing with almost everything.

Pairing: 1x2x5 3x4

Warning: occ-ness. I wanted to make this chapter short and fluffy.

-- - -- - - - - - --

"That's it," said Duo scornfully. "He confessed his true love and you gave in?"

The comment earned him a slap on the back of his head. "Quite," Quatre hissed. "You don't want to wake him up."

Trowa who had been awake for the past fifteen minutes wisely kept his mouth shut and his eyes barely open. He was watching the interaction between the two friends with interest since he was finding out a few interesting things he did not have the right to hear but Duo apparently did when he was awake.

"So, did you?" Duo asked without bothering to lower his voice. "Roll over and give in to him."

"No," Quatre replied in return. "He didn't exactly confess his true love and I didn't exactly ask him to marry me. It's just that, I think he sees me now as I really am."

"Amazing," Duo said sarcastically. "It took a shot to the chest to open his eyes. I wonder…"

"Easy for you to say," Quatre replied, bristling under the attack. "It took a plunge through the roof for you to figure out you have a fetish for Asian men."

"Way below the belt, man," Duo growled. "What I'm saying is, aren't you giving in too easily after all what he put you through? Come on, Quatre you aren't a saint and Trowa did do a heck of a lot to hurt you."

Trowa held his breath imperceptibly as he waited for the answer.

"Oh." There was definitely a tone of menace. "I'm really going to enjoy my payback. It's going to be so much fun."

Trowa decided he just couldn't wait For Quatre to start paying him back. Perhaps by then he would be well enough to walk on his own without toppling over and they would be out of the Sanc Castle. Hospitality was good but the plush settings were making him uncomfortable. Plus there was no privacy where the five of them were concerned with all the guards, Noin, Lady Une and not to mention Dorothy and Relena walking about. Still, it would have been worse had they had to hole up somewhere until he was well enough and as Duo would say, food was good. Still, to spend time alone with Quatre…

"So, how are things between the three of you?" Quatre asked awkwardly.

"Ok," Duo said with a shrug. "I mean, we haven't done anything…" Trowa could only see them below the waist as they sat on two adjacent chairs next to his bed but from the way Duo was fidgeting, he bet that the boy was blushing. "Like I said I can't do …um…and…seriously, do you see either Wufei or Heero acting spontaneously?"

"Are you doing anything about your… problem?" The delicate nature of the question made Trowa think of a lot of things…like Duo having deformed genitals or the problem could also be a gundam pilot by the name of Heero Yuy.

"Well," hesitation, more hands fumbling on the lap and finally legs straightening. "Heero said he'd help. Said he had experience."

"Heero!" Had Trowa been able to speak without giving himself away, he would have reacted in the same manner.

"Well," Duo continued. "I asked Wufei about it and he said something about Heero saying…um…not wanting sex in any other position than on his back. He…wanted to be able to see who was…you know…doing him."

"Still, Heero," Quatre mumbled. Trowa wondered why he had never noticed that in Heero even after spending so much time with him. Probably because they had been using each other to hide their own problems and not to solve anything. Just as well they were no longer together…it would have proved too destructive for the both of them.

"I know," said Duo in agreement. "It's just that, sometimes I think Heero would be better off with Wufei. Those two are meant for each other while I seem to be the odd one out. What if they decide they don't want me?"

"Oh, that's stupid," Quatre said firmly. "Just give it time for all of you to get used to this. All three of you are new to this and I personally know both of them are crazy over you. Speaking of which here they come, so…"

Trowa watched a little amused as the other two walked in. Even from his position, flat on his back, he could see that they were walking far too close; their shoulders must have been rubbing against each other and the backs of their hands would occasionally linger together – almost like holding hands but not quite. He could see what Duo was worried over. For Heero and Wufei to display that much possessiveness in public was a surprise. But he could also see that they were fond of Duo as well. Without a word they split up as they entered the room and Heero planted himself on Duo's right, between Quatre and Duo while Wufei walked over to the other side.

Knowing that it was no use pretending to be asleep with those two, Trowa opened his eyes and smiled a little. Heero was looking at Quatre suspiciously, which made Trowa wonder if he had missed something. He could also see Wufei sit on Duo's armrest and from the way Wufei kept a casual hand on Duo's shoulder, that the chestnut-haired boy was comfortable with this end of the relationship. He watched Heero look uncertainly at the two of them until Duo reached for Heero's hand and took it in his own.

"So," he said. "Did you get the message?"

In reply, a slightly more relaxed looking Heero handed over a palm top to Duo from one of his jeans pockets. Trowa gave a mental cheer that Heero seemed to have finally gotten rid of his annoying pair of shorts. He was sure had Heero worn them any longer they'd have to be surgically removed.

Duo thumbed the palm top on, seeming to scroll down while Wufei absentmindedly handed Trowa grapes, a piece of apple and a banana someone had placed on the bedside stand. Trowa kept them on the other side of the bed, wondering why people always thought sick people needed to be stuffed with food when Duo let out a loud whoop.

"Oh, man," he said with a laugh. "You really have to see this e-mail." He looked up at Trowa and smiled. "It's from Catherine to Trowa and since he can't strain himself, I'll read it to him. Listen to this will you…"

Trowa listened with growing horror as Duo decided to read his personal mail to his fellow pilots.

"_Dear brother_, (Duo read)

_I am pleased to hear you are recovering but it would be nice if you could actually pick up a vid-comm and call me back. Anyway, I'm coming to visit you as soon as possible. I have obtained leave from the circus. We have such a lot to talk about."_

Duo stopped and looked up, looking pleased with the last sentence. "Man, you can see the emphasis here," he chortled and Trowa weakly reached for the palm top. Heero pushed down his hand without even looking at him and Trowa slumped back, thinking of all the abuse he was taking. Just wait until he was better…

"So, when is she coming?" Trowa asked feeling a little overwhelmed. Catherine, coming to Earth and meeting everyone.

"Don't skip to the end," Duo said, laughing back and Heero sat on the other arm rest, making the trio complete. "I'm just getting to the good bit. Here…she says…"

"…_I want to tell you about the DNA results in person since you seem intent on avoiding me and you and I are going to have a loooooooooong talk about your blond fetish."_

As one, all four pilots looked at Trowa who felt as mystified as any of them. "Eh," he managed weakly.

"_I had this nice blonde girl who has a striking resemblance to Relena Peacecraft call me up and tell me that she would pay for my shuttle, first class. I like her much better than the pervious blonde girl who was rude and obnoxious…"_

"Must be Dorothy," Heero observed.

"_And I'm dying to meet that blond boy of yours, you were worried about the last time you came to L2,"_ Duo read on. "Does that mean Zechs?" he asked innocently, looking up.

"It's a well known fact that Zechs has a crush on Heero," Wufei said calmly. Trowa stared at Wufei who was smiling down at Heero in an amused manner over Duo's head. "After all, in every battle we've been in, you've got Zechs rushing after Heero."

"Runs in the family?" Duo teased to the boy sitting on his right. "You've bagged both the Peacecrafts…lucky you."

Heero looked as if he was going to strangle both his …ah…boyfriends before breaking out in one of his rare half smiles. "I don't like blonds," he said.

"Oh, yes," said Duo coming back to the e-mail. _"I'm going to deal with whichever one of your blond bimbos as soon as I arrive,"_ he read. _"Expect me some time next week. _

_Love, Cathy. _

_P.s. Will be brining my knives with me to deal with said blond."_

"Give me that," Quatre said with a gasp of strangled laughter and pulled the palm top off Duo. He gave the letter a once over and scowled. "This is nothing like what you read," he said. "Well, the gist of it but…seriously Duo, you have me worried with the mention of the knives."

"I think she has them on her at all times," Wufei pointed out.

"Thanks a lot," Quatre huffed. "Now I have to learn how to duck knives thrown at me."

"It's not bad," Heero said with a shrug. "We'll be back by then."

"Back," Quatre said looking up. "You are leaving…where?"

"We thought we'd tell you later but well…" Wufei shrugged. "Sally sent a message saying she wanted to talk to me…aboard the Peacemillion. Said she wanted to tell me something about my colony and I thought… since I've come out as the sole survivor of L5 that maybe I should go and see what she has to say."

"I'm going as well," Duo said with a shrug. "Howard is there as well and thought I'd drop by and see Hilde. Trowa did say there was some trouble at the Scrap Yard."

"And Heero?" Quatre asked with trepidation.

"We're not leaving him behind," Duo said firmly, giving Heero a squeeze around the waist, which the dark haired boy did not shrug off.

"He's with us," Wufei added and Trowa could see that Heero was pleased with the declaration.

"We'll be back in time to talk to Lady Une," Wufei said, reminding them all that the former Oz general had come to speak to them. She had told them that she needed their special talents as she was setting up an agency to maintain peace so perhaps they would be interested in joining her.

"What we've got is Noin, Sally and me," she'd said with a grimace. "It feels like some women's liberation movements…would be nice to have some men on our side."

"And you'll get to keep an eye out on us," Heero had pointed out.

"Sixteen year old terrorists with Gundam piloting abilities," Lady Une had countered back. "I definitely need to keep an eye on you lot."

"We'll be back before Trowa can say 'fuck me Quatre'," Duo said with a cheeky grin making Quatre blush. "Don't you worry, we won't miss the show for the world."

Trowa let his eye close a little relaxing in the friendly atmosphere. They had all been tried with fire but had come together with their friendship intact. They had been forged together to be something stronger than they were before. There were issues they needed to deal with and he knew it was not going to be smooth sailing for any of them but he was sure they were going to make it.

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

_**Long author's note.**_

_**Finished for now ppl. I could dowith a lot of reviews. Say nice things. :)**_

When I wrote this fic, it was a one-shot with only the first chapter, which grew to be this long, long…er… thing. I have to thank my reviewers who kept up with me. I have to thank Stray to betaed my mangled English with patience and funny comments and pointed out inconsistencies. All the mistakes present are mine and mine alone.

The reason I did not announce the final pairing is because I thought it would spoil the story. If everyone knew it was going to be 1x2x5 then Wufei cheating on Duo with Heero would not have the same impact as I had hoped it would have.

there are lot of issues which I didn't deal with in this fic

Heero, Duo and Wufei are going to be insecure about this relationship they are in. This includes Duo's rape, Heero thinking he's the odd one out and Wufei thinking Heero only came to them as a re-bounce from the affair with Trowa. Let's not forget Duo never dealt with Heero and Wufei cheating on him and that's going to have to crop up eventually.

Trowa and Quatre…oh, they are going to have it rough as well, especially with a knife wielding sister thrown in occasionally. Or should I say 29 sisters plus assorted kids. I also have this idea that Trowa should growl a bit,…ok a lot for putting Quatre through all that.

And there was one terrorist Shaun who tired to kill Sally…hmm (may be )

Why is Sally always with Howard…hint… hint…

_**Does Zechs need to make an appearance? I have enough characters to deal with and plan on introducing a few new ones but still, another blond…**_

I have a series of long chapters planned under the heading Insecurities. So, firstly, do I need a follow up for this fic. What issue would you have me deal with in it? What did I leave out? Loose ends, things I've missed out on, need to work on, should have included etc. So, on that note…ppl comment…

Also if…that's a big if…I write the follow up I need to come up with an organization from where Une would maintain law and order. I don't want to call it the Preventors. So any suggestions on names are welcome.

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	24. Chapter 24

**This is for those of you who signed up for alerts for this story. I have started on the sequel and thought you might want to know, I'm going to start putting it on the net.**

**Title:** Insecurities 1 (Sequel to Forged Together)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam wing universe or any of the original characters. I'm doing this for fun.

**Pairing:** 3x4 1x2x5 (in all combinations).** This is the sequel to Forged Together which is also under my pen name. You'll have to read that to understand how the pairings came about. **

**Warnings:** Yaoi, Romance (if you can call it that), angst, humor, AU as in Endless Waltz didn't happen

**Rating:** NC 17

**Archive:** my lj under aidannwn

**Betaed :**by Stray (greyhunter)

**Summary:** The five pilots are growing up, trying to juggle work, school, field assignments, crazy sisters and everything else. In-between they have to work out the insecurities that are tearing apart their relationships.

**Update rate:** Once a week. May need prodding. Sorry, people busy at work but needed to get this online.


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